The First Potter
by Sarra Alcatsol
Summary: ((CH 16 UP!))What happened in the sixth year to make Lily's mind change about James being such a arrogant toerag? This is it. Pranks, lessons, moonlit nights, love, ghosts, the Maurader's Map, and Quidditch.
1. The End of the End James Potter

(A/N Before You Read This Fic.)  
  
A few things I wanted to say, I'm going to be dedicating each chapter to someone. Now, I've got to have a reason to do this of course. You've got to show me ya care about this fic or at least that you're bold enough to talk to me on AIM. My sn is in my Bio (which is a work of art!). Please contact me as often as you feel like it. I have a good friend who's one of my reviewers, and she takes the time to bother me about updating. CH. 14 is to her.  
  
I'm using Microsoft Notepad, which does NOT have a spell check. Please bear with me as I find these little buggers and exterminate them.  
  
Please also remember that this is NOT A FLASHBACK FIC. It just has two different timelines going on. I hope you enjoy. I give you a punch in the first chapter, but it softens out in the next few. I look forward to reading your reviews/IMs/e-mails.  
  
- The Author, Sarra  
  
(End A/N. Enjoy Reading.)  
  
-Chapter 1-  
  
-The End of the End-  
  
-James 'Prongs' Potter-  
  
The house was quiet, excepting the whimpers slowly becoming louder as the baby was carried down the stairs to the living room. James smiled at his wife, loving the way she could handle anything, including a squirming boy. As Lily settled on the couch she explained the baby just wouldn't calm down, and he looked so pitiful that she had to bring him down.  
  
"Let me hold him," James said, extending his arms to hold his son. His son. Those two words sounded better than any spell he had uttered or tale he concocted. He cradled the child in his arms, kissing his head, murmuring encouraging things to him.  
  
His son.  
  
James rocked his son till he was asleep.  
  
"It's horrible," Lily exclaimed.  
  
"What is?"  
  
"He is almost a year old," she said, a grin growing on her face, "and he still can't go to bed without being rocked to sleep."  
  
James laughed softly. He surveyed his son's face; it was almost like looking in a mirror, a mirror that reflected what you looked like twenty years ago. Excepting that his son's eyes, though closed at the moment, reflected the eyes of his wife.  
  
His wife.  
  
"What are you so happy about?" Lily queried, noticing the look growing on James's face. "You look like you did when you won the Quidditch Cup at Hogwarts, that mix of pride and elation. It's unmistakable."  
  
"Oh, Lily. This is so much better than anything I ever accomplished or achieved." Tears filling his eyes he continued, "Lily . . . if we hadn't hidden ourselves do you realize what would happen to our beautiful boy?"  
  
She knew. He could tell she knew by the way her eyes brimmed with tears also. He crossed the room and sat next to her on the burlap sofa. James Potter sat his child, Harry, on his lap and engulfed Lily in his arms; so happy this moment had finally arrived.  
  
Then it was over.  
  
There was a loud rapping on the door, but before Lily or James could move it burst to pieces. The man, if you can call him that, who was standing in its place was none other than the tormentor himself.  
  
Lord Voldemort.  
  
"Good evening folks." His vile voice hissed.  
  
Everything happened in an instant, James immediately was on his feet, wand revealed and pushing Harry into Lily's arms.  
  
"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off-"  
  
Their eyes met and in that very last glance they bid a heart-wrenching farewell. Lily spun and stumbled from the room clutching her precious son. James, once sure of their retreat, turned and faced Voldemort. He was only sure of one thing, Harry must live.  
  
James aimed a few curses at Voldemort, who in turn laughed and called from his own wand the death curse. James felt the curse envelope him in a green light, and penetrate his skin, it was telling his body to sleep . . .sleep . . .just sleep . . .  
  
James let one last resistant sigh from his lips and succumbed to his eternal slumber.  
  
"Lily..."  
  
(End Chapter 1)  
  
(For Jael, who told me about an amazing site where I can write about a book series I enjoy.) 


	2. Another Beginning

-Chapter 2-  
  
-Another Beginning-  
  
. . .Ten Years Earlier. . .  
  
Lily awoke early enough to take shower and be ready to go by the time her mother was fixing breakfast. When she was finished packing up her trunk, she could hear her sister stirring in the next room.  
  
Petunia had never been very keen on Lily becoming a witch. In fact, she rarely talked to Lily anymore. Lily missed the intimacy they had, but she would rather have Hogwarts.  
  
Lily moved about her muggle bedroom, no wizard pictures, no spell books, and no self-moving objects. She didn't have any of that on display because her parent's muggle friends were always looking around her room, commenting on her delicate color scheme and praising her assortment of black and white photographs she had taken of London and the surrounding countryside.  
  
Luckily for Lily, no one went into her closet. It was her one private place. In there she had magically enlarged it and put shelves in. All her old, some new, spell books were in there. She had beautiful pictures of Hogwarts, Hogsmeade, Platform 9 ¾, and her friends. All were moving, smiling, or just sitting soaking up some sun. Her most prized picture was that of Maggie and herself. It made her feel better to come in here and see all the familiar faces and places.  
  
Lily was proud of her closet.  
  
She sighed, grabbed the books she would need this school year and left her haven. She magically locked the door, shoved the books in her trunk, picked up her owl-less cage and left her muggle room with one last glance.  
  
As she dragged her trunk down the hallway, Petunia emerged from her room. Petunia glanced over the things Lily was dragging from her room and said, "Is it that time of year again?"  
  
"Yes." Lily calmly said.  
  
Petunia heaved a great sigh and squeezed by Lily to go monopolize the bathroom. Lily pushed her trunk down stairs. It landed with a great THUD on the wooden floor at the foot of the stairs. She slid it in front of the door and walked into the elegant parlor. There sat her father, he looked majestic in his high backed reading chair with the newspaper covering his face.  
  
"Good morning, Lovey," came the voice from behind the newspaper.  
  
"Good morning, Dad," she said. "Can I have the car keys?"  
  
"May I-" he corrected.  
  
"May I have the car keys?"  
  
"Your not running away are you?" he said, lowering the newspaper.  
  
"No!"  
  
"All right," he laughed as he handed over the keys. "I was just checking."  
  
Lily lugged her trunk to the car and popped open the trunk of the car. There was no way she could haul that thing into the car. . .  
  
She looked around, making sure no one was watching, and put a simple weightless spell on her Hogwarts trunk. When that was completed she swung the trunk into the car and checked one last time to see if she had everything. Books, owl treats, photo album, manual muggle camera, Hogwarts uniform and muggle clothes were all inside.  
  
"Well that does it."  
  
She snapped closed the trunks, Hogwarts and muggle car.  
  
She stopped before entering the house. Instead she turned and scanned the sky, looking for her mother's owl, Mint. It was a beautiful creature, raven black with large pale green eyes. Her mother had an owl to use when she needed to send Lily anything at school. Of course Lily, the only witch in the family, had to use the school owls.  
  
Mint was bringing news on what time her friend Maggie was arriving at Platform 9 ¾. Lily scanned with no avail. No owl . . . where could it be?  
  
As Lily reached for the doorknob, she heard shouting from inside the house. Lily quietly slipped in and sneaked towards the kitchen, where her parents and Petunia were having a heated talk about . . . Lily.  
  
"I'm not going with you!" Petunia screamed.  
  
"Young lady," Lily heard her father's voice shaking with rage. "We are supporting Lily as a family. Did you hear that? FAMILY!"  
  
"Petunia, you have to come." That was Lily's mother trying to keep peace. "We only have each other."  
  
"Not me," Petunia was sounding very proud of herself. "I have a boyfriend. I have him as well."  
  
"Child," now Father sounded tired. "If you come I will drive you and Vernon anywhere for your next date."  
  
"Really?" Lily could almost see the smug expression on her sister's face.  
  
He sighed, "Yes."  
  
Lily decided to walk in before Petunia had her parents giving into her scheme anymore.  
  
"Well," Lily happily said, "I'm ready."  
  
Her Father lifted his head out of his hands, and smiled at Lily. He hated to see his daughter go away every year, but her saw her at Christmas and had her all summer. He rose to his full height of 6' 3" and offered his arm to his 5'3" wife.  
  
"Shall we, lovely?"  
  
Lily's mother giggled and took her husband's arm, "Yes, we shall."  
  
Lily watched them pass out of the kitchen, happy as ever. Lily sighed and turned to Petunia. They stared blankly at one another. Until Petunia showed sings of boredom, turned on her heel and stomped from the muggle kitchen. Lily was even more surprised when Petunia ran back in the room and almost squeezed the life out of Lily.  
  
"Why do you have to be a witch?'  
  
Lily hugged her back and replied, "It's my destiny."  
  
Petunia's hugged slacked off to nothing. She stepped back from Lily.  
  
"I don't like your destiny."  
  
That startled Lily, "Why?"  
  
"You're not-- normal."  
  
"Define 'normal'."  
  
That stumped Petunia. But she replied, "Why can't you leave them?" She was starting to get annoyed by her sister's ignorance to the fact she was a freak.  
  
Lily just smiled.  
  
Petunia was flabbergasted. How could Lily be so ignorant? Then Petunia decided to not let Lily's lifestyle interfere with hers. From that moment on, Petunia had no sister. If Lily couldn't even see she was a freak, maybe Petunia would catch it. She shuddered at the thought.  
  
"Bye Lily."  
  
"What?"  
  
Petunia didn't reply. She just turned and left the small white ad blue kitchen. Lily was puzzled. The puzzlement was pushed aside when she remembered she was going back to Hogwarts. Elation filled her. She skipped outside to the car where her family was already waiting. She smiled, took one last look at her muggle house and climbed into the car.  
  
"Onwards to Hogwarts!' Lily shouted. Petunia shuddered and their parents laughed.  
  
"Onwards!" echoed Father.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
"The sun has yet to rise."  
  
The stars were bright enough that James didn't notice. He lay sprawled on his bed, thinking, plotting, and scheming. James heard the door down the hallway creak open, then close. James knew it was his sister, sneaking back into the house. He knew not where she went, but he knew where ever it was it was with her boyfriend.  
  
It was natural that the sixteen-year-old James Potter didn't like Baron. He was rude, crude, and had a bad attitude. James laughed to himself as he thought of the day Sirius came up with that line, Baron had cursed at James while Grace, his sister, was upstairs getting her jacket.  
  
The only factor to increase his dislike of Baron was the fact he was a Malfoy.  
  
Baron Malfoy was always rude to James, and his little brother Lucius mimicked him. James knew not how, but in some way, Baron had convinced his beautiful sister Grace to like him.  
  
Like him enough to break almost every rule in the Potter household.  
  
James sighed and rolled out of bed, it was 3 in the morning, but he knew he wouldn't sleep again tonight. He walked to his owl, which was sitting on his desk, and wrote a brief note on one of the scraps littering it.  
  
Padfoot-  
  
Can you come pick me up for Hogwarts? I have a feeling my parents will be busy with my sister. Yes, she was out again tonight. My dad had a house-elf stay up to watch the door. I don't want to bother them. Thanks!  
  
-Prongs  
  
Sirius sleepily glanced over the letter, and scribbled an answer on the back.  
  
Prongs-  
  
DEFINITELY.  
  
-Padfoot  
  
James smiled at the reply, and gave his owl an extra treat for being so rapid in his deliveries. His owl was pure black with large pale blue eyes. His mother had named it Romeo. His mother read, a lot. She especially loved Shakespeare. James thought it was an odd thing for a witch to love, but she threw aside stereotypes and read on. Tiffany Potter loved literature. They had dedicated one room in their large house, solely to books. His favorite part was the Quidditch section of the Potter library.  
  
James was sorely tempted to go down now and look one last time, before he left for Hogwarts, to go through the collection, but James decided against it. He realized he would probably scare Poppy, the house elf whom had been told to watch the door. He puttered about his room for five minutes before an unfamiliar owl pecked at his window.  
  
This owl looked familiar though.  
  
James did a double take between his owl, and the new one.  
  
His owl and the new one.  
  
They were mirror images. He opened the window and the owl fluttered over to his desk. James was still bewildered when he noticed the trademark blue ribbon.  
  
Maggie had sent him an owl.  
  
James untied the letter from the owl and read the note.  
  
J.P.-  
  
Hey! How are you? I know it is early, but I thought you would be awake. I guess you are now, if your reading this! I wanted to show you Lily's mother's owl. Does she not look exactly like Romeo? Her name is Mint. If you could, when you're done goggling at the similarities, will you send Lily the enclosed letter? DON'T YOU READ IT! I'm not doing this because you're nice or anything . . . I just wanted to show you how similar the owls are. Thanks a million billion!  
  
-M.A.  
  
James noticed he had dropped the enclosed letter; he picked it up and reattached it with the blue ribbon.  
  
Mint.  
  
"Hello Mint!" James whispered.  
  
The owl looked intelligently at him and blinked twice.  
  
"Hey, Romeo does that too!"  
  
Then James received an idea. A beautifully, scheming idea.  
  
He let Romeo out from his cage and spoke to him, "Romeo," he said, grinning.  
  
"Escort the lady home."  
  
James laughed as Romeo puffed up with importance and flew off with Mint at his side. James watched the owls disappear into the night. Then a thought struck him, Lily's mum has an owl.  
  
Her mum, not Lily.  
  
Lily's mum wasn't a witch.' How curious', he thought. He would have lingered on the thought, but he felt very suddenly exhausted.  
  
He gave into it, sunk into his bed, and slept.  
  
The first thing James's brain registered was the sound of muffled shouting. Then it all rushed back to him, his parents were yelling at his nineteen- year-old sister for sneaking out the night before.  
  
'Stupid Malfoy', James thought as he rolled from his bed a second time. His clock told him that it was well past the time he should have been up, and he nearly had a heart attack when he saw his empty owl cage.  
  
James was always a little slow in the morning, so it took him a few seconds to remember he sent Romeo off with Mint.  
  
James got dressed, gave his hair a good rumple, and double-checked that all of his things were in his trunk. Everything was there. Now all he had to do was get a snack and his trunk downstairs. Those things were easy, after all the Potters had the best house elves in the world. At least James thought so.  
  
He sneaked from his room trying not to disrupt the false peace echoing from his sister's room. He plodded down the stairs and to the large stone and wood kitchen. His footsteps echoed as he crossed to the left counter. James wished Sirius would get here soon. The shouting began to echo again from upstairs, and then stopped again. James knew better than to think it had all blown over.  
  
"Winnie?" James called.  
  
A small house elf with a small pointy nose and big green eyes appeared at his feet.  
  
"Stand up," James said smiling. "I just want my trunk brought down from my bed chamber, to the front door."  
  
Winnie's already large eyes grew wider, and she stared with fear at him. He smiled. He knew she was afraid of going up into the war zone. He bent down, so he would be eye level and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.  
  
"Just be really quiet and do that invisible thing you do so well."  
  
She nodded, hit herself on the head for being scared, and ran off in the direction of the back stairs. Or at least James heard her run off, she had turned herself invisible directly after punishing herself.  
  
'I need food,' he thought. James turned to the counter. The food supply was kept else where in the Potter mansion. 'I need food . . .'  
  
"Poppy!" he called.  
  
A bright eyed, young house elf appeared with a pop, "Yes?"  
  
When James was over his shock he asked Poppy to make him a snack for the Hogwarts Express, because his parents were too preoccupied with their current situation to give James any money. Poppy perked up at the request, he popped away.  
  
James was laughing at Poppy's abrupt departure when he felt a small prod on his back. It was Winnie.  
  
"Little master, your trunk is at the door."  
  
"Thank you, Winnie."  
  
"Your Welcome, little master." She curtsied and skipped away; happy she had received a thank you for work that she loved doing.  
  
James loved the house elves. Just one was a blessing, but the Potters were definitely doubly blessed. James knew it full well.  
  
"Little master."  
  
"Oh! Poppy you startled me!"  
  
Poppy's eyes filled with regret and he began to pound himself on the head. James grabbed Poppy's wrists, "No." Poppy looked at James, and James let go of his wrists.  
  
'Little master, your food is on the counter." Then, quite suddenly, Poppy got a sparkle in his eyes and popped away. James idly wondered where poppy had gone. The thought was rapidly forgotten as James turned to the counter and gaped at the feast before him. Every type of wizard candy was there and a lunch for six people! As James gaped the door bell chimed. The chime of the bell seemed to wake him from hi state of astonishment.  
  
"Poppy! Put all of this in a bag!" Poppy popped and quickly got to work as James ran to the door. He opened it to reveal,  
  
"Maggie?"  
  
"Hey Potter. Sirius is driving. He picked me up too."  
  
James took it all in and said "Hold on a second! I need to get my stuff!"  
  
James rushed back to the kitchen and Poppy handed him the food bag. The bag fit in James's pocket and was as light as a feather.  
  
James looked skeptically at the little bag, and asked Poppy, "Is all of the food in this bag?"  
  
"Yes little master!" he said grinning.  
  
"All right . . . "  
  
James ran back to the front door and grabbed the handle of his trunk. He pulled and heaved, and moved it two inches.  
  
"James," Sirius called. "Put a weightless spell on the thing!"  
  
"Okay." He said uneasily. He hesitated, the students of Hogwarts were not supposed to do magic outside of the school, but with all the recent deaths . . . they didn't say no.  
  
Not specifically, no. . .  
  
He made up his mind, put a weightless spell on the trunk and carried it out to the car.  
  
James hopped in the front seat next to Sirius.  
  
"Are you sure you can drive this?"  
  
"Of course I can!"  
  
James turned to Maggie in the back seat, "Can he drive this?"  
  
"Can he drive? Yes. Well? Not exactly."  
  
"You know," Sirius said as he pulled out from the Potter drive way. "'He' is sitting right here!"  
  
Sirius laughed along with James and Maggie as they made their way through the muggle traffic to the train station, more specifically, Platform 9 ¾, even more detailed the Hogwarts Express, and from there to Hogwarts it self.  
  
(End Chapter 2)  
  
(For Lydia, Hannah, Sarah who rented the Harry Potter I movie and claimed that I HAD to watch it with them.) 


	3. Before the Arrival is the Getting There

-Chapter 3-  
  
-Before the Arrival is the Getting There-  
  
"Come on Sirius!"  
  
"I have to find a parking spot!" he called back to Maggie.  
  
"Fine, but hurry so you don't miss the Express." Maggie turned to James, "I need to find Lily."  
  
"I'll come with you." James confirmed.  
  
They both looked about the landing, unsure of which direction which to start.  
  
"How about we just get on the train."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because we will all want a compartment to ourselves." James snapped.  
  
"Okay," Maggie grumbled. "Don't bite my head off."  
  
They silently made their way through the muggle train station until they came to the last partition between platforms 9 and 10. James noticed a beautiful, very pregnant, and very redheaded mother hug her little redheaded boy, and send him off through the partition.  
  
James noticed the tear that slipped from her cheek, when she turned to a young, skinny, redheaded man, he was trying to keep a (redheaded) seven year old under control. The child was running around playing with a toy dragon. The mother smiled at her husband and made a motion that it was time to leave. The father smiled and slipped and arm around his wife's waist and shouted to the energetic boy, "Come on Charlie! It's time to go home!" With that the family with flaming hair left the train station.  
  
James and Maggie both realized they were still staring after the long gone family.  
  
"I wonder who they were." Maggie half whispered.  
  
"The Weasleys." Bellowed an unwelcoming and familiar voice.  
  
James spun to see Baron and Lucius Malfoy.  
  
"Hello Potter." Baron sneered.  
  
James couldn't open his mouth or a stream of obscenities would flow forth. Obscenities that would make Maggie's curly hair straighten from root to tip. Maggie caught that James did not think fondly of the two young men that stood before them.  
  
"I'm going to the train, Potter." She said warily.  
  
"Fine with me." He was glad she was leaving so he could give the Malfoy boys a piece of his mind. Maggie slunk off under the piercing glare of Lucius Malfoy. She felt his eyes on her all the way through the magical barrier.  
  
"Aw, poor Jamesey-Wamesey." Baron snickered. "Your girly friendly won't stick around."  
  
"She is not my girl friend." James voice was dangerously close to yelling to the world what type of man was standing in front of him. Then James caught something Lucius said. Or at least it sounded like Lucius muttered "good" under his breath.  
  
"Time for Hogwarts Lucius." Came the icy voice.  
  
"Fine." Came the smaller version of the voice, with a slimier note to it.  
  
James was watching them through the partition until he heard a sniffle behind him. He turned to reveal Lily Evans. He thought it was Lily Evans. Whoever it was, she was a lot shorter and, he blushed as he realized he noticed . . . she had grown up. She filled out her robes; they use to always be too large. Her eyes were filled with tears.  
  
James couldn't understand what in the world she was crying about. He stood there like an idiot and just watched her as she ran past him to the partition. She hadn't noticed him, she was too sad. His heart wrenched as he watched her try to straighten up and collect herself, then start sobbing again. When she was gone from sight, James chastised himself for not doing anything.  
  
"I am such an idiot." He quickly gathered up his stuff and didn't even notice that he just faced one of his worst fears, James hated running through the partition. But he had completely forgotten his own fears and was focusing on a particularly sad redhead he knew to be on the other side of that silly barrier.  
  
He scanned the swarming crowd of witches and wizards. He saw Maggie pushing through the crowd and hopping onto the train . . .but no Lily. James felt a tap on his back and turned to reveal Sirius, Remus, and Peter.  
  
"Why didn't you wait for us?" Sirius wondered.  
  
"Prongs," Remus could tell something was wrong. "What's going on?"  
  
"Lily just came through here crying and now I cannot find her."  
  
"Lily Evans?" Sirius was curious why James cared so much. A smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth.  
  
"Yeah." James was searching the crowd again, not really listening to the other boys as they exchanged knowing glances and said they would help James look. They were still searching when a familiar screech reached James ears. Romeo came swooping in and landed on a nearby lamppost.  
  
"Romeo!" the four boys chorused.  
  
James opened Romeo's cage and Romeo settled right in. Then James had a thought, What if this isn't Romeo? What if it is Mint? James quickly studied the owl. Sure enough, it was Romeo; it had pale blue eyes, not green. After that was resolved James suggested that they go find the compartment Maggie was supposed to reserve. They fought through the crowd to the Hogwarts express.  
  
While they were fighting they noticed a group of seventh years gathering around a Ravenclaw named Dedalus Diggle. He was making little stars and pinning them onto people's robes for three Knuts. To attract attention he was making a few of his 'stars' flying around people's heads. As Sirius walked past James heard him mutter, "show off" and glare at Deladus.  
  
"He's going to get caught by muggles one day with his silly little tricks." Was the jealous comment Sirius made to James.  
  
"Aw, come off it Padfoot," Remus remarked. "You're just mad because he's taking all of the attention off of you!"  
  
The boys laughed and jumped aboard the train. The train's final whistle blew and the train began its long journey to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  
  
"I'll see you guys in a minute. Duty calls . . ." Remus said, and walked along to the prefect compartment.  
  
The three remaining Marauders searched until they found the compartment Maggie had claimed as the Marauder's. There was a painting on the compartment door, it was the Gryffindor lion, and it held a Slytherin snake within its mouth. The eagle and the badger were rolling on the ground laughing at the sight of lion and snake. Then the lion would spit out the snake, the lion made a face that inferred the snake tasted bad, and the picture would start over again, lion picking up the snake and eagle and badger laughing hysterically. That painting had marked their compartment since James's second year of Hogwarts.  
  
James said the spell to wipe clean the painting and entered the compartment. It was empty except for Maggie and Lily. Both were quite calm and Lily didn't even look like she had been crying. Maggie and Lily stopped their giggling to look (Maggie) and glare (Lily) up at the intruders.  
  
"Can we help you?" came the calm question from the girls.  
  
"Yeah!" came Sirius's reply. "This is our compartment. So you can see yourselves out."  
  
The girls stood up in unison and glared at the boys. All three boys backed up slightly, unsure of what the girls would do. Then the girls shouted,  
  
"BOO!"  
  
The boys yelled their heads off and the girls doubled over laughing. Then the boys turned scarlet and began to laugh too. After they were completely laughed out they all breathlessly collapsed on the seats of the compartment. Remus walked back in, staring at them like they were nutters. He told them so. They broke into laughter again.  
  
"What a fun year this will be!" James exclaimed. 'Maybe I'll finally have my chance!'  
  
"Especially with us making the You-Know-What of the You-Know-Where!"  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?" Asked Lily, a little ticked off that the guys were still not leaving.  
  
"Nothing!" Came the reply from the sneaky four.  
  
"Yeah right!" exclaimed Maggie. "You guys will have to tell us some time! Why not now?"  
  
"Yeah?' asked Remus. "Why don't we just tell them now?"  
  
"Because." James gave Remus a very meaningful glance and shook his head.  
  
Lily and Maggie both shook their heads and sighed "Boys."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
Then a young, plump witch pushing a food cart knocked on the door.  
  
"Do you want anything off the cart?"  
  
The students studied her, and were wondering why she had come. She was supposed to be by later. Much later. Then they realized this was someone new pushing the cart.  
  
"Where is the other lady that used to push the cart?  
  
"Well, she -sniff-- passed away this summer." They noticed a tear fall from the young lady's blue eyes. "She was my grandmother."  
  
"Oh! I am so sorry!" exclaimed Lily.  
  
"Can I give you a tip?" came Maggie's voice.  
  
"Sure." The woman's face lit up at the thought of help.  
  
"You might want to come later in the train ride." Was Maggie's suggestion. "If you come, say, around one o'clock. More people will be hungry and will want to buy your snacks." Maggie shared a smile with the woman and bought some items for later.  
  
When she left everyone had something, except for James, who had no money.  
  
"Prongs," Remus said through a full mouth. "Why did you not buy anything?"  
  
"I'm not hungry." Came the lame reply.  
  
He received a look from all eyes that said "Yeah right! James Potter not hungry?"  
  
"Fine! I don't have any money!"  
  
He pulled his pockets inside out and the small bag Poppy had given him fell to the floor.  
  
"What's that?" Peter wanted to know.  
  
Then James remembered and began pulling candy from the bag, and he pulled out more candy. Then he pulled out more candy. Then he pulled forth from the magical sack his lunch. All mouths were dropped, a few of them exposing food. Lily quickly shut hers and began deciding what she wanted to eat first. She reached out for a chocolate frog, when James slapped her hand.  
  
"Ouch!" she cried. Her temper began to rise, 'Who does he think he is!?'  
  
"What do you say?" he asked, he was waving the coveted frog in the air before her.  
  
She raised her eyebrow and said, "Please?"  
  
He dropped the frog and she grabbed it before it could hit the floor. They all laughed and reached for some of James's candy that they wanted for themselves. He made them each, in turn, say 'Please' for anything they took.  
  
After saying 'Please' a number of times Lily was full from eating all the food and candy. She laid a hand on her full stomach and let forth a contented sigh. She studied the other students though her almost asleep eyes.  
  
She didn't know Peter that well, but his mousy hair was slicked back this year. It was a nice change from last year's unarranged-in-any-way look. His watery-blue eyes were darting around the compartment, undoubtedly looking for unguarded candy. He was allowed in the group because the other kids picked on him. He clung to James and Sirius because he needed protection.  
  
Lily studied Remus's sleepy eyes and brown hair. If Lily didn't know that Remus was only sixteen she would have guessed that he had some silver hairs poking though his messy hair. His hair had always had a silver sheen to it, and everyone was created differently, so it wasn't Lily's place to criticize its color. She watched as his gray eyes at last succumbed to sleep.  
  
Her gaze shifted to Sirius who was noisily digging through a box of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and Lily laughed to herself as he spit one out and exclaimed, "Oak Tree!" His black eyes were shining as he bravely picked out another and found a more satisfying "Mint Chocolate" flavor. Whenever Sirius was happy, excited, or mad about something his short black hair seemed to stand on end more than usual.  
  
Maggie who was trying to catch her Chocolate Frog caught Lily's attention then. It jumped from her grasp and onto the window, which it proceeded to climb up and then jumped out. Maggie sighed and pulled out her card. Her blue eyes lit up and she flipped her brown hair from her eyes as she looked at the card before her.  
  
She waved the card under James Potter's nose. His hazel eyes also lit up and he tried to grab the card from her. She forced him to say 'Please' and she handed over the card. He ran a hand through his tousled black hair and smiled. His smiles lit up his entire face. James looked up and locked eyes with Lily as she closed her green ones and fell asleep.  
  
James liked Lily, a lot. He always seemed to do the wrong things to impress her. If she only knew how often he thought about her auburn hair and beautiful green eyes . . . He decided to think about it later, and watched everyone one by one fall asleep. It was definitely contagious, because soon James Potter was being shaken awake by Sirius who was telling him that if they didn't dress in their robes now, they would enter their beloved school looking like muggles. James hopped up and relaxed once he saw Sirius already had his robes ready for him to change into.  
  
"Thanks." James mumbled, still not fully awake.  
  
"No problem! The voice only now came on telling everyone to get ready for arrival."  
  
"Man, we slept the whole way to Hogwarts!" James exclaimed pulling the robes on over his head.  
  
"Yeah I know." Sirius had a smirk growing on his handsome features.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Well- uh- you were sound asleep I guess, so you didn't notice it . . ."  
  
"What Sirius?" James was starting to worry. Sirius rarely smirked . . .  
  
"Lily fell into your lap while you were sleeping. She slept there this entire time. Didn't you know?" Sirius asked, a full-blown smirk enveloping his face.  
  
"You're joking!" James's hazel eyes lit up with surprise. "What did she do?"  
  
"Sorry, Prongs. That's classified info!"  
  
James was flabbergasted and was about to knock Sirius over when . . .  
  
"WE HAVE NOW ARRIVED AT HOGWARTS. PLEASE LEAVE YOUR BELONGINGS ON THE TRAIN AND THEY WILL BE BROUGHT TO YOUR DORMITORIES. THANK YOU."  
  
"Why in the world was that so bloomin' loud!?" James yelled.  
  
Remus laughed and pulled James off the train (and away from beating up his best friend) with Sirius and Peter in tow.  
  
Yes, Remus thought, another year of Hogwarts fun.  
  
(End Chapter 3)  
  
(For Sam, my brother, who badgered me into reading the HP series.) 


	4. Detention and Defying Death

-Chapter 4-  
  
-Detention and Defying Death-  
  
(A/N: Since I've had someone get confused, this is a few weeks into Hogwarts.)  
  
Professor McGonagall fumed at the two people in front of her, a pretty young lady with auburn hair and striking green eyes, and a tall, gangly, young man, with dark hair and even darker eyes. Both were dressed in her house colors, scarlet and gold, the colors of Gryffindor house.  
  
"Do you two have a vendetta against me?" she purred.  
  
They mumbled a negative reply, both sets of eyes downcast.  
  
"Lily, I am most seriously disappointed in you. You may understand all the basics, but transfiguration is not an easy thing. Many of your fellow students still have not mastered it."  
  
"Yes ma'am," Lily muttered.  
  
"And you," The professor turned on the boy, "James, there is no reason for you to talk to a lady that way-"  
  
"But she's not a lady!" James exclaimed.  
  
"Yes I am!" Lily bit back, turning to confront him.  
  
"No you're not."  
  
"Yes I am."  
  
BANG!  
  
Both stopped bickering, and turned slowly to face the professor. She was now so mad her mouth was pressed into a thin white line.  
  
"Ten points from Gryffindor!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"How can you take points from your own house!?"  
  
"As easily as giving you two detention, James." Lily's face went as white as a ghost, while James's remained unaffected, he had already received two detentions so far this year.  
  
"De-detention?" Lily stammered.  
  
"Yes Miss Evans. Detention."  
  
"But Professor McGonagall," pleaded Lily. "I've never had a detention before."  
  
James rolled his eyes.  
  
"Mr. Potter, I suggest you keep your eyes straight forward at all times."  
  
After a moments thought she said, "Come to my office after dinner to schedule your detention. I think giving the Trophy room a once over polish with your two wrists tied together is fair." Lily's shock was indescribable.  
  
"You are dismissed."  
  
Outside the door James knew Miss Perfect Evans would start crying. He was very, very wrong.  
  
"You."  
  
James turned around to see Lily, not shaking with tears, but rage. Her emerald eyes glowing likes twin miniature green fires.  
  
"I had the perfect record. Do you realize what you just did, Potter?" Lily spat.  
  
"No."  
  
"Wrong answer."  
  
"I'm sorry," James backed away, seeing Lily go for her wand, "I'm sorry, but what is one detention going to do?"  
  
"What will it do, Potter? What will it do!"  
  
Then she turned on her heel and left. Lily made a beeline for Gryffindor Tower, tears stinging her eyes.  
  
"Password?"  
  
"Frilly underthings," she choked.  
  
"My, my. Poor dearie." Cooed the fat lady, as she swung open to reveal the Gryffindor common room.  
  
Lily dove into a chair near the fire and wept. Wept for her record, now broken. Wept for her reputation, now shattered. Finally she wept for her goal, to be Head Girl, which now seemed unattainable, with this small but substantial blemish.  
  
A Detention.  
  
"Lily?" Lily lifted her swollen and puffy eyes to reveal Maggie.  
  
"Oh, Maggie. I've got a detention."  
  
Maggie understood her friend's goals and dreams.  
  
"No!"  
  
Lily nodded and burst into tears again; Maggie knelt down and stroked her head, telling her it wasn't the end of the world.  
  
Margaret Amberson had met Lily Evans on the Hogwarts Express, two scared little girls, both who had grown up in Muggle homes, being thrown into worlds of amazing and impossible things. Maggie calmed Lily, just enough to hear she had even been the cause of a deduction of ten points from Gryffindor.  
  
Lily had almost told the cause of her detention when the portrait hole swung open. Lily glared at the opening; Maggie guessed whoever was coming in was the source of the detention.  
  
Maggie turned to reveal James Potter and his friend Sirius Black entering the room. Maggie turned back to her friend who was now trying to blow a hole through the floor with her vision.  
  
"Lily! Quit staring so hard! You'll give yourself a headache!" Maggie joked.  
  
"He is such a know-it-all!"  
  
"I know."  
  
"All he cares about is Quidditch."  
  
"I know."  
  
"I don't think I'll ever talk to him again."  
  
"Ok, Lily, that's a little much."  
  
"No, it's not."  
  
"Yeah, it is."  
  
"No."  
  
"Ok, fine, all the better for me."  
  
That stopped Lily's ranting.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I mean that is one less girl to like him. So, maybe, I'll have a better chance with him."  
  
"You're talking about him like he's a good thing."  
  
"Lily. Come on. Potter's not so bad. I don't think so. And you know you don't really hate him."  
  
"Your right. I don't care a whit about him."  
  
"That's right!" Maggie egged her on; 'Maybe she'll stop talking about him!'  
  
"In fact," Lily continued, perked up by the encouragement, " I'm going to go mail the letter I wrote for my family right now."  
  
Lily stood up, went and got her letter from her trunk, and set out for the Owlery. Before she left the common room she had wanted to show Potter she was strong and could take Professor McGonagall's punishment, but he had disappeared.  
  
No matter, she thought to herself as she maneuvered through the other students on their way to classes. Lily was always amazed at the sheer amount of birds that flew around in the Owlery. It was probably her favorite place in the castle, not mentioning the windowsill in her dormitory. Lily scanned the masses of feathers for the ones she knew belonged to her owl.  
  
When she heard a familiar ruffle of wings behind her, she spun, and found her owl. Her black feathers sharply contrasted her large, pale green eyes. She had named her owl, Mint. Her mother had given it to her when they had arrived at Platform 9 ¾, the owl had finally found them while they were nearing King's Cross. Her heart ached as she thought of her parents and sister.  
  
"Hello, Mint. I have a letter for home."  
  
Lily tied a red ribbon to her owl's leg with the note attached, and Mint took off. Lily followed her to the window. She leaned against the sill until she could no longer see her precious bird. The something else caught her eye. A single figure, flying around the Quidditch field. Lily sighed in disgust. She knew who that lone figure would be.  
  
Potter.  
  
She was about to turn away from the all too usual spectacle when she noticed another figure join him on the field, and another, and another.  
  
Now four small specks were flying around, and they didn't look like they were being nice either. It looked almost like a deadly game of tag. Being slightly nosy, Lily decided to investigate.  
  
What she found was not at all surprising.  
  
Potter was on his broomstick, and so was his friend Sirius, he is definitely not as graceful as Potter in the air, she observed. The other two people were no surprise either, Lucius Malfoy, and his friend, the slimy Severus Snape. Severus was the first one to notice Lily.  
  
"Lucius." Said Severus, and he made a slight downward motion with his head.  
  
Lucius caught it and looked down, there was one of those Gryffindor girls, the really pretty one. Then he got an idea. Surely Potter liked her; otherwise he wouldn't have fought with her so loudly last year after the O.W.L.s. He grinned slyly and just as Potter got the notion there might be something way down there on the ground, Lucius dove at Lily.  
  
There was nothing anyone could do to stop the sixty-mile an hour broomstick hurtling towards Lily.  
  
She dove out of the way, landing roughly on the ground. The air above her rushed past, he had barely missed.  
  
Lily quickly rolled over and was on her feet, she whipped out her wand. Before she could say or do anything Lucius had turned around and was heading back at her. Lily thought she heard yells, but she couldn't tell her mind was so blurred. When he hit her, it knocked the wind from her. Before Lily had time to draw a breath she was hundreds of feet above the ground. Lucius had picked her up, and was holding her hostage at the far end of the Quidditch field, as far from the ground as from the other boys.  
  
She twisted her body to see Lucius' face, he was grinning. It was a twisted, evil grin.  
  
James knew what Lucius would do in an instant. He dove forward as fast as his prized Black Flash would take him. Then Lucius did it.  
  
He dropped Lily.  
  
James sped up, thinking of Lily as the Golden Snitch, but this Golden Snitch would die if he didn't reach it in time. The wind rushed in his ears, but he pressed harder. Down, down she fell. James didn't know if he could make it in time. Twenty feet above the ground, he caught her.  
  
It was almost like she had fainted, or died falling she was so limp in his arms. Slowly she came to, but he wouldn't set her down until she was awake and could stand, even run away from here. Her eyes opened and stared up at his, and as he set down his broom, his eyes locked with hers. He set her on the ground.  
  
"Get away from here. Go find a professor."  
  
He could tell his instructions were falling on deaf ears. So, James shot back up into the sky where Lucius had rejoined the little group. He and Severus sneered at James.  
  
"Too bad, Potter," came Lucius' cold voice. "All that energy wasted. Ha. She is only a Mudblood."  
  
Lily saw the change in mood, James lunged at Lucius throwing punches, and Sirius and Severus joined in on the act, when it stopped.  
  
Just stopped.  
  
They were frozen in time, arms poised to fight, when Lily had the sensation that someone was behind her. She turned to face Albus Dumbledore.  
  
"Miss Evans," he said with his calm voice. "Do you mind standing next to me as we listen to the boys' stories?"  
  
"N-not at all."  
  
Lily moved to stand behind Dumbledore as he pointed his wand at Severus Snape. Severus came to life and slowly made his way down to stand in front of Dumbledore.  
  
"Mr. Snape, what happened?"  
  
"We had a dispute over a game, sir." It made Lily sick that Severus could lie that easily.  
  
"Thank you, Severus, you may return now." Severus Snape turned sneered at Lily. She secretly wished she had never interfered in Potter and Black's unfair torture of him last year. Severus slunk off in the direction of Hogwarts. Lily asked Dumbledore how much of the dispute he had seen.  
  
His solemn reply was, "All."  
  
Next Dumbledore released Sirius Black.  
  
"Mr. Black, what happened?" Sirius started his story from where Lily had been observing from the Owlery window, he came out to fly with James and then Malfoy and Snape joined in the fun, taunting and trying to knock them off their brooms. Lucius picked up and dropped Lily, James saved her and then- Sirius cut short and his cheeks and ears turned a bright red.  
  
"Mr. Black? Then what happened?"  
  
"Lucius called Evans a-"  
  
Dumbledore, calm and composed pressed, "A what?"  
  
"A Mudblood." Black spat out the words, they obviously tasted horrible to him.  
  
This obviously upset Dumbledore, "You may go now."  
  
Next he released Lucius Malfoy. He made up a story about how James and Sirius had challenged he and Severus to a game, a deadly one. Then Potter started to beat them up because they wouldn't play. No mention of Lily or name- calling.  
  
"You may go now."  
  
Finally Dumbledore called down James Potter.  
  
"Mr. Potter, what happened?"  
  
His story matched word for word with what Sirius reported. James stopped at the time of name-calling and turned red also.  
  
"What James?" pressed Dumbledore.  
  
"I'd rather not repeat what Malfoy called the lady."  
  
'The Lady? Weren't we just fighting over that?' Lily wondered.  
  
"It's all right. Mr. Black told me. Also, I saw the entire thing. Start to finish."  
  
James caught Lily's eye, "I'm sorry."  
  
"Me too." She replied.  
  
"Well, that was easy, wasn't it?" said Dumbledore grinning. "See? Had you done that earlier this whole detention mess could have been avoided."  
  
"But," he quickly added, seeing Lily's eyes brim with tears, "maybe that detention isn't necessary. Am I right?"  
  
Lily's eyes now overflowed with tears as she ran forward and embraced Albus Dumbledore. Dumbledore went pink and returned the hug, he understood. James did too. Her dream of being Head Girl was as important to him as his winning the House Cup for Gryffindor. He wished he could tell her how much SHE meant to him.  
  
"How about we return to Hogwarts?" he proposed.  
  
"Yes." said the girl.  
  
"Yes." said the boy.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
Lucius' punishment came within a week of the incident. He was to be sent home. Not expelled, just given a few weeks away from Hogwarts to think over his error.  
  
"That's outrageous!" shouted James one morning at breakfast. His fist pounded the table so hard it startled Peter Pettigrew.  
  
"James," Peter mumbled, "It is entirely Professor Dumbledore's decision. You've repeated over a hundred times that he saw the whole thing."  
  
"Yes, but Peter, you weren't there. Dumbledore should have at the very least expelled him!" Commented Sirius.  
  
"Oh well," Remus Lupin pushed out through his full mouth. "You win some you lose some. James, it's my opinion that you DEFINETLY won this one." Remus added a sly nod of his head at a cluster of girls whispering and enjoying their breakfast. James went a little pink at that inclination. He went even redder when the girls started to giggle. Sirius laughed at James, "Aw, come on! You know you like the attention those fourth year girls are giving you!"  
  
"Pack it in." James said in a low voice. They returned to eating and making fun of James. Suddenly the Great Hall went silent.  
  
Dead silent.  
  
The boys looked around to see what had made the change in mood. Lucius Malfoy stood in the entryway, glaring at James and Sirius. The boys simply stared blankly back at him. Lucius gave a silent nod to Severus. Then he swung around and stomped loudly out the door and down the hallway. Every single eye was then turned towards James and Sirius.  
  
James knew he had to do something, so he said in a pleasant tone, "Well, I'm glad he told us 'Good-Bye' before he left, otherwise I would feel very offended."  
  
"Quite right, my man. Quite right." Sirius agreed.  
  
After a short burst of nervous laughter, the Great Hall was back to normal, as placid as the magical early September sky covering the room's ceiling.  
  
(End Chapter 4)  
  
(For my dad who saw the principles behind the magic.) 


	5. The Ghostly Queen

-Chapter 5-  
  
-The Ghostly Queen-  
  
"Christmas isn't too far away is it?" Remus mumbled, distractedly. He was too entranced with the way the snow was falling.  
  
"Yeah not too far . . Moony?" James tried to get Remus' attention. James had gotten tangled in his robe and was about to topple over when Peter Pettigrew saw what was happening, and rushed over to help James into his robe.  
  
"I've done this for six years," James grumbled. "You would think I know how to do this."  
  
Suddenly the dormitory door burst open, and Sirius Black burst with it, panting heavily.  
  
"The-the ghosts!"  
  
"What about the ghosts?" Peter asked.  
  
"They have all gone haywire!"  
  
"What?" queried Remus, he was back to the world of Hogwarts now.  
  
"Just come see!" said a very excited Sirius.  
  
The boys quickly finished dressing and made their beds, "School policy" Peter reminded them, and ran down to Great Hall. Ghosts were decorating the Great Hall in their spooky decorations with a passion.  
  
"What is going on?" came a booming voice as professor Dumbledore entered the Great Hall. A gallant ghost named Sir Carlos III came gliding over to answer Dumbledore's request.  
  
"Oh gracious and mighty sir!" exclaimed the ghost, bowing and making an effort to hold on his head. "It will be the Hogwarts ghosts great honor to welcome the queen."  
  
"The queen?" wondered Dumbledore; he didn't look too sure about a ghost queen.  
  
"Yes, oh headmaster sir! A queen of England, who needed revenge so badly upon the people who wronged her, she became a ghost in order to fulfill that need!"  
  
"Whom might this queen be?"  
  
"Why none other than the second wife of King Henry VIII."  
  
"The second wife?"  
  
"Yes, sir. He had six wives in all." A small gasp passed the lips of the first years.  
  
"And her name is?" Dumbledore said, a slight bit harsher than he meant.  
  
"Queen Anne Boleyn." Now a gasp passed every living being's lips. Everyone started to whisper excitedly.  
  
"Wasn't she a witch?"  
  
"How could she be?"  
  
"Did we even study her in History of Magic?"  
  
Then some of the living beings also realized how the school would look dingy to a former queen, but it was time for classes to begin. No one ate breakfast that morning; no one cared, except Remus Lupin.  
  
"I'm so hungry I could eat a whole stag!" he grumbled.  
  
"Moony . . . do NOT get any ideas!" James warily exclaimed. That drew a laugh from all four friends. As Remus saw Severus Snape pass them in the hall he said with a grin, "or I could eat a Snape -er- I mean snake." The boys laughed louder than ever at that drawing many puzzled looks from their fellow students.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
Lily awoke five minutes late. Never before had she been late!  
  
"It's only five minutes," she griped at herself. Everyone else had deserted the dormitory and from what Lily could tell, they left in a hurry.  
  
"I'm always a sound-sleeper when I don't want to be!" she griped again.  
  
After Lily got dressed and made her bed, "School Policy," she reminded herself, she noticed the snow falling from the September sky.  
  
"Snow? In September!?" Wow we are in for a cold winter!" As she left the dorm, Sirius Black raced past her and up the stairs.  
  
"Hi Lily, bye Lily!"  
  
"Yeah you too," she called back.  
  
Lily wasn't feeling like breakfast today, so she had decided to go read a random book in the library. When she got there it was very, very deserted. No one was in there, not even the mistress of the library, Madame le Pomp.  
  
Something was going on.  
  
Lily picked her random book, Hogwarts, A History. Not what she would have picked for herself, but it worked. She laid the book on a table and read until the warning bell. She left a note for Madame le Pomp saying she had borrowed the book. She slipped the book into her backpack and left.  
  
Lily hop-skipped her way down to Transfiguration. A sight greeted her equally strange as no one in the library. Professor McGonagall was not standing behind her desk, and there were NO students at all in the room.  
  
"How curious," her voice reverberated in the empty classroom. Then a sound came that scared her, thousands of feet running down the hallways, it also echoed in the room, sounding like a hundred-thousand feet! Lily saw the rush outside the door from her seat. Quickly the other sixth year Gryffindors trickled into the room.  
  
She caught scatterings of their excited chatter.  
  
"-Dumbledore's mad-"  
  
"-Boleyn, I've heard-"  
  
"-Ghosts are insane-"  
  
"-the queen get here?"  
  
None of it made sense to Lily. Then the four friends entered the classroom. They had long been dubbed "The Marauders" by a few of the professors, but they seemed to like that title, so they kept it. Lily knew they would be up to date on whatever everyone was talking about.  
  
"Remus!" she shouted over the din.  
  
"What?" he shouted back.  
  
"What's all this about the ghosts?"  
  
"You don't know?" yelled Sirius, the boys usually answered for each other. "A ghost queen is coming to Hogwarts."  
  
"A what?" said Lily, incredulous.  
  
"A-GHOST-QUEEN!" this time it was James who answered, or shouted.  
  
The bell rang, and the confusion continued. There was no Professor McGonagall to shut them up. Somehow, even she didn't know, Lily found Maggie. They wormed their way through the crowd to a corner.  
  
"Okay. Tell me. What's this about a ghost queen?"  
  
"The ghost are decorating Great Hall," she said. "Did you notice the snow? What's up with that?"  
  
"I don't know."  
  
After half an hour of waiting for McGonagall, the students went back to their common room. It was a much-needed change after waiting in the chilly classroom. Lily and Maggie joined the Marauders in their corner of the room. They were whispering and scribbling something on a new piece of parchment.  
  
"And just what are you boys doing?" asked Maggie, striding up, with Lily, to the boys.  
  
James grabbed the parchment and hid it behind his back. "Nothing."  
  
"Someone got their hand caught in the cookie jar!" laughed Lily.  
  
"Go away girls. This is official Marauders business," Sirius said, very serious.  
  
The girls glanced at each other and burst with laughter. It wasn't long before Remus smiled; the girl's laughter was contagious. Then he gave up controlling it and laughed too. James and Peter joined in, Sirius glared at them all.  
  
"I was serious."  
  
"We know!" laughed Peter.  
  
"Come on guys," giggled Lily. "What are you making?"  
  
Then the boys became serious. They exchanged glances, obviously they were deciding if they could trust Lily and Maggie. Their eyes finally settled on James, he would be the deciding vote.  
  
"You promise to never, ever, tell another soul anything you hear from us?"  
  
"Yes." Lily said.  
  
"Yes." Maggie echoed.  
  
He beckoned them closer and they formed a circle around the table. James revealed the parchment. It was a blank, new piece of paper.  
  
"What's so secret about that?" asked Maggie.  
  
"Watch." James took his wand and touched it to the paper.  
  
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."  
  
Quite suddenly a map appeared on the paper. Maggie gasped as she realized what they were looking at . . .a map of Hogwarts.  
  
"Where did you get that!?" she said, really loud.  
  
"Shhh! Were making it," said Peter. "Were not done yet."  
  
"Who came up with the opening line?" Lily was curious. The boys pointed at Sirius. He blushed and made a comment about it not being a good map if it doesn't have a good opening line. They laughed at that, making Sirius turn a deeper shade of crimson.  
  
In order to divert some of the attention away from himself he said, "Remus has come up with the spell in order to only let us write on it."  
  
"Great. It's a map," commented Lily. "There are plenty of those! What makes this one so special?"  
  
"Were adding another feature!" said Peter excitedly.  
  
"What?"  
  
"People."  
  
"People? How can you add in people?"  
  
The boys smiled, glad to get a chance to show off, "By creating a tracking spell."  
  
"By creating a spell?"  
  
" Oh Yeah."  
  
Then the you-can-leave-class-now bell rung and the common room emptied.  
  
The sixth year Gryffindors were happy about their next class, History of Magic. Well, they were happy TODAY because now they had something to actually BE interested in. All were planning on asking about the former queen of England.  
  
The ghostly form of Professor Binns was hovering at his podium. His ghostly eyes looked up to reveal his rowdiest class, sitting in their seats, hands folded and all eyes on him.  
  
If he were human he would have had a heart attack.  
  
"Good morning class," his ghostly voice wavered with fear.  
  
"Good morning Professor Binns," they chorused in sync.  
  
He was as unnerved as he could become. Had someone died? What was going on? He decided on turning his back on the students and starting to write notes on the chalkboard. The scratch of the chalk echoed in the silent room. He sighed, set the chalk down and turned to face the class again.  
  
They were all still staring at him. He started to shiver, and decided to say something.  
  
"Well," he wavered. "What is going on?"  
  
Every hand shot up and all voices started echoing the same question about the Queen Anne.  
  
"Wait!" He raised his hands to silence the clamor. "If you are so curious about a former muggle queen of England . . .. I want you all to do research. By next Tuesday I want a 24 inch, or more, parchment on whatever you can find!"  
  
Whatever groans he had expected did not come. There were only smiles on the faces of his students . . .Have I done something that they actually like? he thought.  
  
He was quite shaken, which rarely happens. He decided to give the students leave to go to the library for research. They rushed from the room, and as he fell into his chair, Professor Binns wondered how many of his sixth year Gryffindors actually went to the library.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
"Have any of you found out anything yet?"  
  
"Nothing here Sirius." Maggie replied, distractedly.  
  
Maggie kept flipping through the "You Thought They Were Muggles, But Did They Fool You!; Famous Persons Edition" and was finding nothing. Lily sighed as she flipped through "The Monarchy of Wizardry" she also was finding not a thing.  
  
Maggie looked around to see how the others were progressing. Maggie already knew Sirius was just standing there staring into the abyss, James was intently searching through a thick book, and Remus was sleeping propped up on his elbow. She hid her laughter as his elbow slipped off the desk and he jerked awake. He was so cute when he was bewildered.  
  
Maggie caught that thought, and held it. She realized she had just called Remus Lupin cute. Well, he IS... she finally admitted to herself. She sighed and shook her head clear of the thought.  
  
Maggie continued searching through the book. She looked at everything from "Monarchy" to "Mistresses" to "Queens". Nothing was said about Anne Boleyn. Maggie got an idea to look in another book called "Were They Really?" It told her that it is very hard to find any thing out about dead magical persons.  
  
"No duh." She said under her breath.  
  
"What?"  
  
Maggie's attention was not caught by the quiet question. Remus leaned over and gently shook her shoulder to get it. Maggie looked up and blushed.  
  
That thought was returning . . .  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"What did you say?" he queried.  
  
"Oh! The book was repeating that it's hard to find information about dead magical persons."  
  
"Well," came Lily's two cents. "That's quite obvious. I'm going back to the common room." She carried off her three books, returned one to the shelf and checked out the other two. Madame Le Pomp was reading a very risqué looking book, obviously a muggle romance novel. Madame Le Pomp noticed Lily standing there and turned a shade of crimson, her large hoop earrings tinkled as she wrote Lily's name down and the two books she was checking out.  
  
"They need to be back in three weeks." She said in her gaudy voice.  
  
"Yes ma'am."  
  
When Lily turned to go to the common room, she glanced at the table The Marauders and Maggie were sitting at. Maggie looked very flushed. Maybe she is sick, Lily thought.  
  
She didn't think about it any more and headed back to the common room. As she passed through the chilly castle, Severus Snape approached her.  
  
"I - uh" he fumbled.  
  
"Yes?" Lily asked in her sweetest voice. She didn't want to talk to him, especially after last year when she stood up for him and then he went and insulted her.  
  
She let her green eyes sparkle and stood up a little bit straighter. She knew what Severus was trying to do, and she would make him work for it.  
  
"I just wanted to say-"  
  
"Uh-huh." He looks like he will be sick, she observed. Good.  
  
"To say-" he choked.  
  
This time Lily kept her mouth quiet, now he had to work to get a response.  
  
Severus took a deep breath and made up his mind. "I'm sorry."  
  
"For what?" Lily said, the picture of innocence.  
  
"For not stopping Lucius and calling you a Mudblood." 'Even though you ARE one . . .' he thought to himself.  
  
"Are you REALLY sorry?"  
  
"Yes." His mind was set. Lily thanked him for his concern. She gave him a smile and walked on to the Gryffindor Tower. Severus stood there bewildered. What had gotten into him? It was because Lucius wasn't here to tell him how to act towards Gryffindors.  
  
Besides, Severus thought, Lily is so gorgeous.  
  
He realized he had actually thought it. That one thought he knew he shouldn't think. She is a Gryffindor Mudblood! Oh if only Lucius knew what he was thinking, he would have so many hexes to ward off . . . He punished himself mentally and continued to slink through the hall.  
  
He was unaware of the pair of hazel eyes that had watched the confession.  
  
(End Chapter 5)  
  
(For Tara and Sabra, they actually sought out my fic.) 


	6. The End of the End Lily Evans Potter

-Chapter 6-  
  
-The End of the End-  
  
-Lily Evans Potter-  
  
Lily felt safe and secure in James's arms. She was so happy to be away from the craziness of the tormented wizarding world. She felt satisfied that she and James had tricked Voldemort by making their secret-keeper Peter. Lily shed tears of joy at the beauty of it all. She was relieved this moment had finally come.  
  
Then it was over.  
  
There was a loud rapping on the door, but before Lily or James could move it burst to pieces. The man, if you can call him that, who was standing in its place was none other than the tormentor himself.  
  
Lord Voldemort.  
  
"Good evening folks." His vile voice hissed.  
  
Everything happened in an instant, James immediately was on his feet, wand revealed and pushing Harry into Lily's arms.  
  
"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off-"  
  
Their eyes met and in that very last glance they bid a heart-wrenching farewell. Lily spun and stumbled from the room clutching her precious son. She raced through the hallway and ran up the stairs. She was trying to ignore the thought that she heard those deadly words permeate from the Potter living room down stairs. Suddenly a bright green light filled the hallway she had just left.  
  
Lily stood there clutching her baby, and her heart stopped. She felt it in her innermost soul.  
  
She felt his love and life vanish from the face of the Earth . . . her James was dead.  
  
Lily would have stared into the nothingness that was now her being; until she felt the bundle within her arms shift so he could breathe better. Lily's eyes locked on the little mirror images of her own, Harry had felt it too. Somehow even at that young age Harry knew that he no longer had a daddy. Lily watched with her shattered heart as a single tear slipped down Harry's cheek.  
  
And Lily knew what must be done.  
  
She turned and raced up the stairs reaching Harry's little bedroom, she gathered his baby things found Harry his little cap, picked him up, and turned to leave through the door. She opened it to get an eyeful of Voldemort, no longer wearing his cloak, but standing there unhidden and seemingly unafraid.  
  
"I've come to pay the little man a vis-" Voldemort was unable to finish because of the door that slammed into his face and flung him against the wall.  
  
The door was reopened within a heartbeat, and Voldemort was standing in the doorway, his face bleeding profusely, "GIVE ME THE CHILD." Came the deep rumble of a voice too angry to care what it sounded like.  
  
"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!" she pleaded with a vengeance, throwing Harry's diaper bag at Voldemort's head. He dodged it but was nearly knocked over again when Harry's stroller was flung at him. He laughed to himself, so as to push aside the fear that this little woman was throwing things of incredible size at him, while grappling a baby boy.  
  
"Stand aside you silly girl." He spat; she was wearing his already absent patience thin.  
  
"Not Harry! Not Harry! Please!" Lily was maneuvering herself around the room so Voldemort would not corner her. "I'll do anything!"  
  
"THEN GIVE ME THE BOY!" he raged.  
  
Lily was taken aback at the sheer amount of hatred pouring from his voice. Lily felt her back touch the cool wood of Harry's crib, he had done it . . . Lord Voldemort had cornered her.  
  
"Stand aside now," he was done playing.  
  
"Not Harry, please no, take me kill me instead!" her tears were flowing free.  
  
Lily watched Voldemort pulling his wand from somewhere in his black and murderously flowing robes.  
  
"Not Harry! Please . . .have mercy . . . have mercy . . ." Lily knew she was knocking on death's door, reluctantly, but she was knocking on the large wooden twin castle doors. At these large doors, time slows and you be come deaf to all noise, just as it did for Lily. She looked from Voldemort's moving mouth and out stretched wand to her baby boy who was calmly watching in her arms. Their eyes met and another baby tear slipped from his mirror eyes.  
  
He knew what would happen . . .  
  
Lily spun herself between Harry and the impending curse, and with her everlasting time she kissed Harry gently on the forehead. She felt the curse course through her and tell her heart to stop, it told her brain to quiet. And they did.  
  
The last conscious decision Lily made was to not fall on Harry, so her effort to save his tiny life would not be crushed by her own dead weight.  
  
She fell and the last hope for Harry's life fell with her . . . or so it seemed to Lord Voldemort.  
  
(End Chapter 6)  
  
(For my mom who has yet to ban me from writing about HP.) 


	7. Broken Broomsticks and a Bite

-Chapter 7-  
  
-Broken Broomsticks and a Bite-  
  
James stayed in the hallway behind the statue for a while longer. He was turning the scene he had beheld over and over in his mind. From what he saw, Snivellus was putting moves on Lily. He had only just called her a Mudblood at the end of last year . . . He just apologized to her. He could only be up to something and that wasn't a comforting thought. Especially if Snivellus had any kind of chance with her . . .  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
The day was beautiful and the D.A.D.A. O.W.L.s were only just over. Padfoot was bored so I tried to make him happy. Snivellus was walking our way and he would never see it coming.  
  
"All right, Snivellus?" I asked him loudly; hoping the clusters of people around us would hear . . . particularly the tittering girls by the lake. Snivellus is smart in one area alone, the area of knowing whenever I say "Hi" to him he's about to get it. I think I gave to the worm pretty good. Padfoot and I gave it to him, I with a disarming charm and he with a charm that knocked him over.  
  
I asked him how his exam went; Padfoot came up with a great line then,  
  
"I was watching him, his nose was touching the parchment. There'll be grease marks all over it, they won't be able to read a word."  
  
People were laughing, and Snivellus started with his weak threats, a usual chorus of "You wait" s. It was Padfoot's turn to reply . . .  
  
"Wait for what?" He began. "What're you going to do, Snivelly, wipe you nose on us?" That ticked Snape off. . . His mouth started spouting swear words and profanities that. . . Well, Swear words that would turn even Padfoot's mom's ears pink . . . he also tried a few nasty hexes, but I'd already disarmed him.  
  
He needed a good soap washing, so I gave him one. "Wash your mouth out." My voice was cold and hard. "Scourgify!" The bubbles were the colors my mom uses, Padfoot noticed that, he laughed, his loud barking filtering in with the other voices.  
  
One voice stood out from them all.  
  
"Leave him ALONE!"  
  
It was she. My stomach cramped and my hand went to my hair, hopefully achieving its desired affect. The sun was bouncing off her dark red hair, giving her a halo fit for only the most beautiful angels.  
  
"All right, Evans?" I was hoping to come across as cool and collected . . .  
  
She didn't notice. Her anger was too high . . . after her asking me again, she asked me something I didn't have an answer to. So I thought of a funny line,  
  
"Well," I was praying this would work for her. "It's more the fact he exists, if you know what I mean . . ."  
  
It didn't work and my idea of her being an angel quickly faded after the next comment.  
  
"You think you're funny," Her voice froze my heart. "But you're just a an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter."  
  
I didn't hear much after that, but said something bold to my surprise, "I will if you go out with me Evans," I was unaware of anything but her emerald eyes. "Go on . . . Go out with me, and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again."  
  
"I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid."  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
James shivered in the cool hallway. The memory still hurt, James hoped that after a whole summer of apologizing and trying to get on good terms with her that Lily would finally see how much his heart ached for her.  
  
James shivered again. This late September weather was amazingly cold. And he still had to practice Quidditch in it.  
  
"James! James Potter!" echoed down the gloomy hallway.  
  
James broke from his revelry to see his fellow Gryffindor keeper, Christopher Brett. Since Christopher was too long to chant everyone called him 'Brett'.  
  
"Hey Brett." James replied.  
  
"Oh!" Brett was startled by James's sudden appearance. "What are you doing lurking in the shadows like a Slytherin?"  
  
"Don't think about it."  
  
"Why not?" Brett was curious.  
  
"Because!" James bit.  
  
"Whoa! Man, you okay?"  
  
James let out a sigh and ran a hand through his tousled black hair.  
  
"Come on," James sounded tired. "Let's go to the pitch. I need to think."  
  
As James and Brett wove their way through the halls, Brett studied James's face. He looked like he was trying to figure out how the world works. Or one of those timeless mysteries . . . maybe that was it . . .  
  
"D'you have girl trouble?" Brett guessed he had poked something with his stab in the dark by the way James jumped.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I knew it." Brett had a cocky smile on his face. "Who is it?"  
  
"Who is what?"  
  
"Which young lady has finally caught the eye of the most devoted seeker Gryffindor has ever seen?"  
  
"Come off it." James face matched the scarlet of his scarf as he pulled it from his bag and wrapped it around his neck. James and Brett exited Hogwarts School and walked through the bitter cold across the snowy grounds to the snow covered pitch.  
  
"Hey James." Brett pushed through his chattering teeth.  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"Race ya!" With that Brett was already running at full speed through the powder.  
  
"No Fair!" James was quickly able to catch up and pass Brett. James reached the broomstick shed first; he leaned against the freezing wall panting heavily. Brett reached him laughing, his blue eyes shining from the exertion.  
  
"You always" -pant- "Win!"  
  
"Ya should learn how, but not against me!" James turned to open the shed.  
  
What James found was horrifying.  
  
All of the school brooms were scattered around the room, broken in half or shattered to pieces.  
  
"What in the muggle earth went on in here?" Brett breathed.  
  
"I don't know." James surveyed the room for the one broomstick he cared about, his Black Flash. James found it; it was the only broomstick that was not littering the floor in shards.  
  
"James . . ." Brett sounded suspicious of something. "Why is your broom the only one NOT broken?"  
  
"I couldn't tell you . . ."  
  
James and Brett stood there for a few more minutes like bumps on a log, taking in the scene, when they heard a familiar voice behind them.  
  
"Bloody Hell!"  
  
Sirius Black was goggling at the scene before him . . . Two boys standing in a wrecked shed. Sirius sighed and rubbed his hands together.  
  
"Prongs . . ." He began.  
  
"I swear it is not what it looks like." James raised his hands in defense,  
  
"Of course it does!" Sirius shouted excitedly. "Someone is trying to frame you! You are not stupid enough to wreck all of these and then leave your broom untouched!" Sirius countenance turned dark, "But who?"  
  
James and Brett shrugged; they had no idea who could have done it. Another Quidditch team wouldn't have done it because then they would have just destroyed their team's brooms. The Gryffindor team couldn't have done it either; they destroyed their brooms too. It was very puzzling, it would have to have been someone who doesn't play Quidditch and wanted revenge on everyone except James.  
  
"How about you three explain what happened to the school brooms."  
  
The boys spun, and standing in he doorway was the outline of Professor Minerva McGonagall, lit up by the sun glinting brilliantly off of the newly fallen snow.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
"I was going out to practice."  
  
"We both were."  
  
"I followed the to get some entertainment."  
  
"-And when I opened the shed-"  
  
"We walked in and all the broom were-"  
  
"Everywhere! Broken, smashed! It was inhumane!"  
  
"HOLD ON!" Professor Dumbledore boomed. He was still new to this whole 'headmaster' thing. So some of his teaching ways were unconventional. "Tell me, one at a time, what happened exactly. I shall know if you are lying."  
  
They each repeated their side of the story, put on their most truthful faces, and each story matched the other perfectly.  
  
"Hm." Dumbledore sighed. "You three may return to your classes."  
  
"Sir, what will we do for Quidditch?" James asked, Quidditch always on his mind.  
  
"You should have other things on your mind, Mr. Potter." Dumbledore smiled and ushered them out of his office. As they made their way down the winding staircase, Sirius whispered to James,  
  
"Well, at least one good thing came from that!"  
  
"And what would that be?" James was still frowning from getting sent to the Headmaster without actually DOING anything to earn it.  
  
"I have Dumbly-bore's office covered."  
  
"What?" James asked a little too loudly.  
  
"The spell for our map . . ." Sirius nudged.  
  
James's eyes lit up, "You can't be serious!"  
  
"Yes I can, do you need to see my birth certificate?" Sirius's lopsided smile made itself known as the three boys exited through the Gargoyle statue leading from Dumbledore's refuge.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
"THE BROOMS ARE WHAT!?" yelled Carson Welsh, The Gryffindor chaser/captain.  
  
Carson was a fifth year, but even at the age of 15 he was receiving owls from the professional Quidditch teams. Carson had a mind built for Quidditch, so it didn't bother James that someone younger than he beat him for Quidditch captain.  
  
"All of our brooms are smashed." James was tired of explaining what he and Brett had witnessed earlier that afternoon. Carson ran a hand over his face and muttered a couple curses.  
  
"You- you're not telling the truth, right?" James shifted his gaze to a short girl with long blonde hair. "This is just one of your 'pranks'. It has to be!" Danielle's hazel eyes were brimming with tears. James knew why, too. Danny had received her first broom for her 15th birthday this past summer.  
  
James nodded, "I'm sorry but, that is the truth."  
  
Danny buried her face in her arms and her boyfriend, Eric, massaged her back, whispering to her that everything would be okay, even though James could tell that he also felt like crying. Eric Yhao was also a member of the Gryffindor Quidditch team.  
  
There were papers fluttering along the Great Hall's wall, each of the four papers listed the House Team line-up. Gryffindor's looked like this:  
  
Year-Name--------------Position  
  
6th Christopher Brett - Keeper  
  
5th Carson Welsh - Chaser/Captain  
  
5th Danielle Richardson - Chaser  
  
3rd Abihail Falsecress - Chaser  
  
6th Eric Yhao - Beater  
  
4th Clarice Covey - Beater  
  
6th James Potter - Seeker  
  
James turned his eyes away from the fluttering papers on the wall to his teammates. He could see them all mentally kissing their beloved broomsticks good-bye.  
  
'I'm glad I don't have to do that.' James thought.  
  
He sighed; they wouldn't get to practice for sometime, since there was only one broomstick left between 28 Hogwarts Quidditch players. James surveyed the other house tables; he saw similar faces that were crying, staring off into nothing, or just glaring at him. Glaring at him? James shook his head and stared in curiosity at the other tables, there actually were some people staring at him. Why? James hadn't done anything. Then he realized as far as they knew, he had broken every broom in the school except his.  
  
It was the cardinal sin for any Quidditch player, to break a broom out of pure malice.  
  
He ran a hand through his hair, wishing they would back off.  
  
Other students began to filter into Great Hall for early dinner. Danielle dried her eyes; Eric wiped a few tears from his own brown eyes,  
  
"Come on, let's go for a walk." She nodded and they left the crowding Great Hall hand-in-hand. The other team members dispersed among the Gryffindors filling up the table. James succumbed to his weariness by resting his head in his arms; he had fallen asleep when the other three Marauders walked up to him.  
  
"Don't wake him." Sirius said. Peter and Remus nodded, the three sat on the opposite side of the table and began to fill their appetite with the delicious food. Sirius looked up when someone sat in the empty seat on the right of James. It was Lily. Sirius noticed she had turned pink around the edges of her face, it actually didn't look bad though, she looked healthy, and -if he dared to think it and he never turned down a dare- pretty.  
  
Lily noticed Sirius staring at her and cocked an eyebrow at him, as if to say, what are you staring at? He quickly shook his head, and continued to busily eat. Lily rolled her eyes, 'Boys are so stupid'. Lily caught Maggie's eye,  
  
"What are you doing after dinner?"  
  
"Not much." Maggie pushed through a full mouth. Maggie swallowed and reached for another roll, as she reached so did Remus; they ended up grabbing at the same roll.  
  
"Oh! I'm sorry." Maggie mumbled. Her face turned a brilliant shade of crimson.  
  
"No, it's okay. You can have it." He offered the roll to Maggie, his shy smile lighting up his face.  
  
"Thanks." She smiled back, and then quickly became engrossed in fixing it with butter. Remus calmly reached for another roll and continued eating. Suddenly James jerked awake, he jumped so high he practically landed in Lily's lap.  
  
"Whoa! Prongs! Are you okay?" Sirius was standing up, and attracting a lot of attention.  
  
Lily just sat still, even though a sixteen-year-old boy can be heavy, he was so tense. Lily could feel his muscles beginning to relax. She shook her head; she did not want to think about that, at least not at the same exact moment James Potter was on her lap. 'NO! He is still that bigheaded, arrogant. .' Her thoughts lost their power when James replied.  
  
"Yeah," he sighed. "I'm good."  
  
He realized where he was sitting, and hopped back into his seat.  
  
"Sorry," His cheeks were tinted. "I guess I got a little excited from the dream I was having. I fell off my broomstick."  
  
"You only fell?" Peter pressed.  
  
James's face twitched. Peter had hit something. What had James really dreamt?  
  
"I- uh- I'm going to the library." James muttered as he excused himself from the table.  
  
From the teacher's table Albus Dumbledore watched the entire interaction. He realized these kids were getting older; soon they would start realizing what the real world was like. Watching them be so innocent, when so much was going on in the safe Hogwarts walls made Albus feel very old. Albus shivered, he never wanted to feel like that ever again.  
  
"Minerva," Dumbledore began. "What do you think about being old?"  
  
"Excuse me, Headmaster." Professor McGonagall said standing up from the table. "But I will tell you my opinion when I get there." She left the Great Hall in a miffed bustle.  
  
Albus Dumbledore sighed and turned back to his dinner, but he couldn't concentrate on it. He looked back at the Marauders. They were discussing something, something important from the looks on the teen's faces. He watched Lily stand; she was also raising her voice because Dumbledore was starting to hear her voice straining to be heard above the crowd.  
  
"I don't give a ---------didn't go there------harm-------know it!" he could just barely make out.  
  
She then turned and left the Great Hall. Maggie stood to follow, but Remus Lupin grabbed her arm, she looked at him. Remus shook his head and said something to her; she seemed to relax as she sat back down. Peter put in his two cents, and Sirius made fun of it because he, Remus and Maggie began to laugh. It was good to see the young people laugh.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
James wrapped his scarlet and gold scarf around his neck. This was way too much happening in one day. James crossed the eerie, snow-covered grounds. The snow glowed and crunched beneath his feet. James only knew one way to get rid of his troubles, to fly. James reached under the stands where he had asked Clarice Covey to place his broomstick there earlier that day so no student would get any ideas of false revenge. He retrieved his broom and mounted it. James kicked hard from the ground. James shot up through the bitter cold air.  
  
It was marvelous to see Hogwarts smothered in a thick coat of snow-fur. James turned away from the sight to see another, the Forbidden Forest drenched in a pearly white froth. James dropped a few feet, and then he dropped some more.  
  
'For the love of Pete,' James thought. He just dove.  
  
He dove in the ground's direction. He felt the faster he moved, the farther away his problems could be. James held out the dive until the last two feet. He jumped onto the back of the broom and stood as he broom pulled a parallel with the ground.  
  
James sliced through the chilly air standing on the back of his broom. He pushed down on the back of the broom, as he rose through the air James was subconsciously using magic to balance on the vertical broom. James jumped off of the broom and felt the air rush past him as he fell towards the frozen earth. James reached out his hand and called his broom to him, the broom fell through the air to his outstretched hand. James deftly pulled it under his plummeting body, and then sped off again, racing over to the edge of the snowy pitch.  
  
James began to trace the outer rim of the pitch, daring himself to leave it.  
  
James, being a Marauder, took himself up on that dare.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
Lily knotted her scarlet and gold scarf about her neck. Then she set out in one of the tunnels she had seen the Marauders using in the previous year. She had traveled it at another time to see if there was anything down it that could get the annoying boys in detention. It was cold down here, and soon the tunnel exited into the even colder night embracing the Hogwarts grounds. Lily pulled her coat tightly around her; she knew James was not in the library. The reason she knew that was because James never went to the library when he wanted to think, he went to the sky.  
  
Lily admired James's flying talents, only because she didn't possess any.  
  
'And if he wasn't so stuck-up I might like him too.'  
  
She quickly let her train of thought go back to its previous carriage, her non-existent flying talent. At least she didn't think she had it because she never actually got the broom off of the ground that first year with Madame Greer. Lily had to bend down and pick up the broomstick in front of all the other first years. So needless to say, Lily didn't even participate in the later broom games they played as they advanced in years at Hogwarts. Lily helped referee from the ground.  
  
Lily made her way through the snow to the Quidditch pitch. What she didn't know was that a young man on a broom was following right behind her, as quietly as he could.  
  
Lily stopped, the hairs on the back of her neck were prickling, and she realized someone was watching her . . .  
  
James swooped in and snatched up Lily, who screamed her head off. James placed a hand over her mouth, so the racket she was making wouldn't bust his eardrums. Lily bit the large hand covering her mouth, whoever had her was definitely not going to be holding on long.  
  
James yelled in pain and fell off he broom, still holding onto Lily. They fell twenty feet into the soft snow.  
  
Lily opened her eyes and saw blood staining the pure white snow; she was laying on someone too. She heard him groan and quickly rolled off of him. She raised her hand; she was ready to knock the living daylights out of the perv who grabbed her . . .  
  
When she saw his face.  
  
Contorted with pain, James's face stared up at her.  
  
He groaned again. Lily stared, horrified at what she had done.  
  
"James," she stuttered. "I didn't know . . ."  
  
"Shut up." He muttered through clenched teeth. "Just help me get to Madame Pomfrey."  
  
"Yeah . . ." her voice trailed off. Lily pulled James from the snow, removed her scarf, tied it around his hand, and they set off through the snow to the tunnel.  
  
"James, I am so sorry."  
  
"Forget it. I shouldn't have sneaked up on you."  
  
"That's true . . ."  
  
"There's nothing to say after that point." He told her.  
  
Lily was shocked. He didn't want to put a guilt trip on her?  
  
"Lily, I can't read minds, but I can read your emotions."  
  
She remained silent.  
  
They reached the tunnel and entered, still in a deep silence. They walked through it and just before they reached the end Lily said,  
  
"I really hate flying."  
  
James laughed and made a comment about maybe he will change that. Lily wondered if she would let him, but pushed the thought aside as they reached the office of Madame Pomfrey. Lily knocked on the door. No one answered. She knocked again. This time there was a shuffle of feet from inside, and Madame Pomfrey opened the door. The sight she saw was the most amazing sight she had ever seen.  
  
She kept her ears open when the students talked in the Infirmary, but no one had mentioned Lily Evans and James Potter being an item. In fact she only heard things about how much Miss Evans detested Mr. Potter, and yet here they were. She blinked and spoke,  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"I hurt my hand."  
  
"Come in and let me see it."  
  
James removed his uninjured arm from around Lily and walked into the Infirmary. Lily only then noticed how close they had been. Lily then decided to go down to the Gryffindor common room and see who was there. She was also going to go give news to anyone who cared about James's hand.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
"Mr. Potter I would like you to stay here for the night."  
  
"Is it that bad?" his voice was tinged with panic.  
  
"No. No, I do not wish for you to travel the cold halls of this drafty school with an injured hand. And I see that question in your eyes. Yes, you may still play Quidditch. Even though I don't know how anyone is, I heard the brooms were all broken."  
  
"They are." James cast down his eyes, hoping Madame Pomfrey hadn't heard the false part of the rumor too.  
  
"Hmmm.." She sighed. "Well, I'll send someone for your warmest night clothes."  
  
James nodded, ran a hand through his hair, and sunk down into the hospital bed. He would sleep tonight; there was no Sirius to wake him up with another devious plan.  
  
(End Chapter 7)  
  
(For Myr Halcyon who gave the humorous line about Sirius's birth certificate.) 


	8. The Queen's Orders

-Chapter 8-  
  
-The Queen's Orders-  
  
Lily was running, panting for breath she struggled to get away from the hooded figure chasing her. She could hear his feet pounding the boardwalk after hers. The pounding stopped, she glanced over her shoulder to the hooded monster riding a broom. She tried to run fast, but her legs seemed to be turning into jelly. Her last resort was the corner of a building approaching. Lily threw herself around the corner, hoping the hooded flyer wouldn't see her gasping in the shadows. Lily pressed her body against the building's damp brick wall and clamped a hand over her mouth so she wouldn't breathe as hard. The figure passed on, calling to her with its high-pitched, raspy voice.  
  
"Lily Evans . . ." Lily waited in the gloom, sweat began to bead her forehead.  
  
"Lily!" The voice's pitch went higher and higher, it was a girl's voice.  
  
"Lily! Come On! Wake up!" It was Margaret Amberson, Lily's best friend since their first year of Hogwarts. Lily jerked awake, gasping for breath in the cold and pitch-dark night that drenched the 6th year Gryffindor Girl's dormitory room.  
  
"Oh, Maggie." Lily began to weep.  
  
"It's okay now." Maggie pulled Lily into a hug, trying to stop Lily's shaking. "Everyone has nightmares. Do you want to tell me about it?"  
  
Lily shook her head; the dream would only trouble Maggie.  
  
"You know I'm here if you need me." Maggie was beginning to head back to her own four-poster bed, but was lingering so Lily would know that she really was here if Lily needed her. Lily nodded, she knew. Lily watched Maggie nod slowly and get back into her bed. Lily waited until she heard Maggie's breath become regular and calm. Lily groped in the darkness for her robe. She found it and pulled it around her cold body. She slipped her feet over the edge of the bed and felt around for her slippers, she felt the soft velvet brush past her ankle. Lily slipped into them and padded over to her windowsill.  
  
This particular window had a breath-taking view of Hogwarts School and its grounds. When Lily sat on the sill she could she entire school, she could also she the slit windows in Dumbledore's office, and either it was dark or glowing from some light within. Tonight. Lily noticed as she slipped onto the cool flagstones, the light was on. It was a small sputtering light, so Dumbledore must have left a candle burning against the frigid darkness.  
  
"That is not very safe," Lily commented absently.  
  
Lily chastised herself for talking when she heard Bertha Jorkins roll over in her bed and mutter something unintelligible. Lily stared out into the fathomless black and purple night. The wind would swirl through the snow and send it skidding over the grounds; Lily believed it reflected the state of confusion her mind was in.  
  
Who was that person chasing her in the nightmare? Lily had never seen anyone dressed quite like that before. Her mind connected what the man was wearing to a picture she had seen in "The Daily Prophet" earlier that week. The man in the picture was blowing up a building, you couldn't see the man's face, but it radiated evil. The caption had said, "A Death Eater caught by film, sadly the photographer was also killed in the blast."  
  
Lily knew Death Eaters were the servants of some insane wizard named Voldemort. At least that was the name that was shouted as his "dark mark" rose into the air over the mangled scene the Death Eaters left behind  
  
Could it have been a Death Eater in her dream?  
  
It was also flying on a broom. Lily searched frantically through her brain for people who flew brooms, maybe even played Quidditch. When the shovel she was digging with hit something resounding and tarnished . . . James flew.  
  
James had only just chased her down earlier this very night. A cold serum slipped through her blood stream chilling her to the very marrow. Lily prayed that her dreams were not warning her against the future . . .  
  
No. James was too loyal. He might go a little loopy with his fellow Marauders, but he could never be a follower of this Voldemort. But if not him, then who? Lily climbed from the window back to her bed, hoping she would dream the nightmare again, and confront her attacker. She waited in the darkness for the troubled sleep to wrench her from consciousness, but it never came. Lily went through a thousand faces of who it could be; her mind would flitter to a certain face and linger there, and then with others she would flitter right by, knowing that person could never be persuaded.  
  
The only reason Lily knew she had slept was when she opened her eyes and dawnlight was pouring through the windows overlooking the school named Hogwarts.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
James slowly came back from his exhausted sleep and happiness flooded him. He stretched and rubbed his eyes. It had to be breakfast time; he knew by the way the sun was gushing into the room from the eastward windows of the infirmary.  
  
James reached up with his uninjured hand, wrapped the curtains around the bed, and began to change into the change of clothes placed by Madame Pomfrey's aide at the foot of his bed. James pulled the soot gray sweater over his white button down shirt, and pulled on his fitted black trousers. He knotted his Gryffindor tie around his neck and finally slipped into his robe. James gave his head a few good shakes, and his hair was done.  
  
The feeling hit him then. James Potter was hungry. It is not like it was a bad thing to be hungry, but James hated being hungry. It seemed to him, he could never eat enough. Afraid that if Madame Pomfrey saw him he would be sent back to bed, James slid silently from the infirmary. Once out in the hallway, he began to race down the hallways upsetting kissing couples and tripping over teachers. James ran headlong into the Ravenclaw perfect, Frank Longbottom. The boys were both knocked to the ground, and Frank's face was turning very interesting shades of red.  
  
"J-Jam-James P-Pot-Potter!" he fumbled.  
  
"Sorry Frank," James leapt to his feet and extended a hand to the seventh year boy. "It won't happen again. I'm just a tad bit late for breakfast!"  
  
"Yes. All right. No points will be taken away." Frank stood to his full height of six foot five and gave James a slight grin. "Have you heard what we have to do for the ghost queen that's coming here?"  
  
"No." answered James, very curios.  
  
"Well, before I tell you . . . You have too get Alice Marfunkle to talk to me!" Frank was flashing a huge grin; James could tell Frank wasn't joking either.  
  
"Frank." James stated. "The seventh year Gryffindor girls do not talk to me." He cocked and eyebrow. "But why do you ask?"  
  
Frank turned red, and shook his head, "Never mind. It was just a joke . . . "  
  
James watched Frank continue on his way through the hallways. It was very impressive how he had changed over the summer. James was almost positive that all Frank had to do was grin at the plump and pretty Alice and she would be stalking him . . .  
  
'But no matter,' James thought. 'I guess I could try and set him up with someone.'  
  
But then he heard girly-giggles from the corridor Frank had just turned into. James then decided Frank wouldn't need any help. None at all.  
  
"WOULD ALL STUDENTS PLEASE REPORT TO GREAT HALL AT THIS TIME."  
  
The announcement jolted James back to reality, and his hunger hit him even harder. James flew to the stair and hopped down three at a time. James was caught up in the crowded front hall; all students were trying to fit in the doors as quickly as possible. Which meant that all that was really happening was people getting stuck in the large door.  
  
James sifted through the crowd and took a seat between Sirius and Brett at the large Gryffindor table in the Great Hall of Hogwarts.  
  
"Hello Gentlemen!" James greeted cheerily.  
  
"Where in the muggle earth were you last night?" Sirius demanded, putting a look of mock severity on his face.  
  
"Sorry Dad," James mumbled. "I was out partying." James turned his face downward and began to fake sob. "I'll nev-never do it again!"  
  
"I can't believe you would do that to us!" piped in Remus who was sitting on the other side of the table. "You scared us half to death!"  
  
"I'm so sorry Mum!" James blew his nose dramatically on his white linen napkin and began to sob loudly, catching the attention of the nearby Gryffindor students.  
  
"There, there!" Peter reached around the breakfast food to pat James on the shoulder. "I understand why you want to stay out late, but you have a responsibility to this family."  
  
"I won't do it again grandmum. I promise." James placed a hand over his heart and sniffled dramatically. After three heartbeats each boy dropped his head, seeming to be lifeless, and their audience broke into applause. When the applause began to fade, the Marauders came back to life and began to scoff down their breakfast.  
  
The chatting was quieted when Professor Dumbledore stood to his feet. There was a grim look on his face, and the students were all soon hanging upon his every word, afraid it was their family member who had died.  
  
"I have received more news from the ghost Sir Carlos III." He began.  
  
Every student griped tightly to the breathe within their chests and prayed that it was positive news. Dumbledore's face gave away no emotion, nothing for the students to hang on to.  
  
"Sir Carlos III has informed me that the ghost of Queen Anne Boleyn will be arriving on the 31st of October, or more directly, this Halloween." A collective sigh left the Hogwarts attendees lips. "But that does not mean we shall just sit around and wait for this to be over with. The Queen has given the staff of our beloved school some very strict orders on how we should conduct the activities and ourselves on this day. We shall not have a Halloween feast . . ."  
  
The gasp rang through the Great Hall, everyone except for the teachers and prefects were completely shocked. There had always, always, been a feast on Halloween at Hogwarts.  
  
"Yes, yes," Dumbledore quieted the crowd. "There will be instead, a ball."  
  
Eyebrows were raised and giggles broke out at this unexpected addition. Hogwarts had held balls before, during contests and other important times, but never just because someone fancied having a ball when they arrived for a viewing of the castle! Lily began to whisper into Maggie's ear,  
  
"A ball! I wonder what I shall wear!"  
  
"Clothes, hopefully!" Maggie giggled back.  
  
"PLEASE!" the voice echoed through the chamber and bounced through the heads of all present. "I need you all to pay attention for a few more minutes. The Queen also does not want anyone below fifth year to attend." Several angry shouts rang out at this turn. "NOW . . . If you are asked by a fifth year or above . . . I do not see any way to keep you from coming. A special trip will be made this Saturday and Sunday to Hogsmeade for any buying of gowns, hair gel, or jewelry. So I suggest if you plan on asking anyone below fifth year . . .ahem . . . get a move on." Dumbledore grinned and tried to regain control of the situation again.  
  
"Please only a few more minutes! The heads of you houses have been instructed in the EXACT attire you MUST wear. If you are interested please be in your common rooms at eight o'clock on the dot. Thank you."  
  
The noise level could be compared to a raging waterfall, cascading and bumping all over and through everyone's mouths and minds. Sirius immediately began to think of the type of pranks that can be played at a ball, when a bony hand gripped his shoulder.  
  
"It would best not to think of pulling anything, young Mr. Black." Sirius looked up into the face of Professor McGonagall, her mouth in its usual flat line and her brown hair dotted with a gray stand or two commanded into a bun at the nape of her neck.  
  
Sirius threw her his charming smile and sweetly answered, "Yes Professor McGonagall!"  
  
Her icy eyes stared blankly at him and she moved on. Sirius let out an enormous sigh and began to fill the last corners of his stomach with the last of his breakfast. James snorted into his orange juice and spilled it down his chin, quickly catching it before it had a chance to make it down to his neatly laundered clothes. Maggie sniffed onto her toast and tried not to breath it down.  
  
"What?" Sirius demanded.  
  
"Please, it was funny enough!" Remus laughed.  
  
"Yeah," Sirius grumbled. "Just like your Mother's face."  
  
Remus slammed his fork onto he table, startling Lily and Peter. "Repeat that."  
  
Fear welled up inside of James and he reached across the table and gripped Remus's wrist. James shook his head slightly, and Remus's anger left him like a deflated balloon. James knew what this night was, and it was not going to be any better if Remus and Sirius weren't on speaking terms. James left go of Remus's wrist and settled back down. Peter seemed very twitchy and nervous and Lily noticed it.  
  
"Peter, are you all right?"  
  
Peter squeaked, and James quickly covered him, "He has a test in Muggle Studies."  
  
"Oh," Lily breathed, knowing how Peter was always nervous about that particular class. "You do know if you ever need any help, just ask me, ok? I do know first hand how all of that stuff works!" She smiled reassuringly.  
  
Peter weakly smiled and made a comment that he had to be going early to class. They all nodded him off and soon were all making their own excuses from the long Gryffindor table, heading to class. Remus headed back to the common room, sick to his stomach. Secretly he was snapping the neck of the wolf that had bitten him at the age of three . . .  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
The day passed with no large occurrences, at least Sirius making Professor Flitwick's pants fly around the room was not uncommon. James would simply strip Sirius of his own pants and send them flying around the room, chasing the professor's and the much smaller pair of trousers would fall limply to the floor of the classroom. By that time Professor Flitwick would be cursing and foaming at the mouth, and the students rolling on the floor laughing, clutching their aching sides. All of this was before lunch.  
  
During lunch, the Marauders seemed to calmly be listening instead of trying to entertain. Lily believed it was a smart thing to do, because if they could hear someone talking about their prank from a nearby table, they had succeeded for that day. Remus did not come down for lunch, "Stomach ache." Sirius absently commented when Maggie questioned his absence.  
  
"He sure seems to be sick a lot." Maggie mumbled.  
  
Lunch passed and the three remaining Marauders had indeed heard of the Amazing Flying Flitwick's Pants. It was the beginning of an adrenaline rush that only grew larger as the sun sunk lower in the sky.  
  
(End Chapter 8)  
  
(For the eleven people who have placed me on their faves list.) 


	9. Once Upon A Moonlit Night

-Chapter 9-  
  
-Once Upon A Moonlit Night-  
  
Lily and Remus climbed the ladder leading to their last class of the day, Divination. James, Sirius and Maggie decided not to sign up for it back in their third year, a decision Lily now considered wise. They found an empty table and scooted over to it, the room's heavy feeling weighing down on Remus's mind, putting him to sleep. He felt a sharp poke in his side and bolted up straight, Lily was trying to keep him from being singled out again. He nodded his thanks and rummaged around in his bag to find his Divination book.  
  
"It is not there . . ." came the melodic voice from the over stuffed chair. Remus raised his eyes to see Madame Trelawney gazing at him, misty eyed. If Remus hadn't left his book in the common room before, and Madame Trelawney told him he had, this would have been a surprise. Remus simply stared at her, and continued looking. Madame Trelawney puffed up with anger,  
  
"Are you telling me that you think my inner eye is clouded?" her voice rising in tone.  
  
Remus felt the crushed velvet that was on the cover of 'Unfogging the Future' and smiled, he had her. He deftly swung the book n his desk and a mischievous smile split his face. "Yes, Ma'am." Lily snorted behind her hand; the look on Professor Trelawney's face was some odd mixture of surprise, anger and curiosity.  
  
"Class," all signs of her wrong prediction flying from her face. "Please rise and come forward to receive the mirrors we will be working with today."  
  
Every student rose and took a translucent mirror from the table. As son as everyone was seated, Professor Trelawney began her muddled instructions,  
  
"Please, no talking. These are mirrors that predict you own future. But you will need a partner. Now, the first person will hold the mirror up to his or her face and the other partner will be watching for any signs of swirling colors, shapes, or animals. You will find a key telling you want the different things mean on page 192. Please begin."  
  
Lily and Remus were always partners in this class, so Remus decided he would go first. He held the mirror so that he could see through it, and Lily would look at the back of it and take notes on anything she saw. The mirror went cloudy and Lily scribbled down a few things, swirling red and yellow, some blue circles and a . . . a wolf. Lily blinked, was it really a wolf? A green triangle showed up and the mirror went translucent again.  
  
"Hmmmm, let us see." Lily mimicked Professor Trelawney's voice. She flipped through the text until she found page 192, 'Amiglass Mirrors; How to Translate What You Have Found.' Lily looked at Remus and shrugged, then turned her attention back to the text.  
  
"What does it say?" he wanted to know.  
  
"Well, swirling red and yellow mean great adventure is coming your way. Or, no, it could just be Gryffindor colors . . ."  
  
"Lily, what else?"  
  
"Oh! Blue circles mean that great wealth will follow you! Or no . . . they mean you're sick a lot." Lily sounded completely confused, but Remus understood, this air could meddle with your mind.  
  
"Anything else?"  
  
"Yeah, there was an animal."  
  
"Which one?"  
  
"Uh . . ." she trailed off; she was too engrossed in trying to find the wolf on the page.  
  
"Lil!" Remus snapped.  
  
"A wolf." She hissed.  
  
"No way," he grabbed the book from her and scanned quickly for the wolf, after reading what it said, Remus turned very pale. Lily couldn't understand what was going on. She grabbed the book back and read the wolf,  
  
'The wolf: Expect a very violent nighttime ahead of you. You may already know which night, but be prepared and send your loved ones away!'  
  
Lily looked back up at Remus, "You're not going to believe this, are ya?"  
  
"Naw . . ." he asked if there was anything else.  
  
"Yes! A green triangle." She scanned the page and found it,  
  
'Green triangle: Expect to have some very mixed emotions about a member of the opposite sex!' Lily laughed and Remus blushed, the noise from her chortling brought Professor Trelawney to their table.  
  
"What is funny, Miss Evans?" her dead brown eyes flashed with unseen anger.  
  
"Nothing, Professor," Lily controlled her laughing and put on a very serious face.  
  
"Have you done your own prediction yet, Ms. Evans?"  
  
"No." she answered flatly.  
  
"Then please, proceed."  
  
"Yes Ma'am" Lily gave Remus a funny look and pulled the mirror between her face and his. The mirror clouded and blue and green swirls appeared, then yellow squares and a green triangle. Remus stifled a laugh and wrote it down. He looked up just in time to see the entire mirror glass swirl purple and black.  
  
"Oh no!" Professor Trelawney began to mutter.  
  
"What?" Lily asked, and she broke the spell of the mirror, it went translucent, but not before a lion appeared upon it. Remus quickly scribbled it down as Lily looked over his shoulder to the marks he had made. She laughed a little when she saw the green triangle.  
  
"You poor, poor child!" Professor Trelawney continued to babble. Remus knew which sign had set her off so he looked specifically for the black and purple mist, he found it and it said,  
  
'Black and Purple Mist: DEATH.'  
  
"Not very subtle is it?" Remus whispered.  
  
Lily's brow furrowed, and she sighed. This would probably be the highlight of Professor Trelawney's day, seeing the mark of death upon one of her students. Trelawney was fanning herself as she sat down in her chair muttering 'Poor child' and similar things.  
  
Remus rolled his eyes and found the rest of Lily's predictions.  
  
"Let's see here," He started. "Blue and green swirl, expect a blooming love relationship to end with death. Whatever. Yellow square means someone you hate will learn to love you. Hey, that's not a bad one! And a lion means that you will be filled with courage. So don't worry about tomorrow. Hey, yours are a lot better than mine!"  
  
Remus grinned at Lily and a small smile graced her face, he realized she was actually worrying about that black and purple mist. He laid a comforting hand on her shoulder,  
  
"Don't think about this load of crap, okay?"  
  
She sighed, "Okay."  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
Dinner came on all too quickly, and Remus had retreated to his dormitory. Sirius had stayed with him, telling James to bring him a plate of something. Lily and Maggie were chatting about the Halloween ball when a very tall and handsome Hufflepuff approached Lily. James's attention was immediately drawn to the Hufflepuff Quidditch team captain preparing to say something to Lily. He cleared his throat and asked Lily if she would step outside with him. Lily agreed and gave Maggie a puzzled look.  
  
James watched them all the way out the doors and noticed Peter and Maggie staring at him.  
  
"What?"  
  
They quickly shook their heads and began to eat again.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
"Lily, will you go to the Queen's Halloween ball with me?"  
  
Lily was shocked, she had helped Amos with his Charms essay last year and he was asking her to go to the ball? Lily smiled and replied,  
  
"I'm sorry. I can't . . . I don't even know if I'm going." She flat out lied. She knew she was going but she hoped it was with a Gryffindor, not Amos, but she couldn't tell him that!  
  
"Oh . . ." he sighed. Lily felt horrible. She quickly thought of a good enough excuse.  
  
"If I decide to go, I'll keep you in mind, okay?" she smiled, praying this would work.  
  
"Okay." He tossed a charming smile at her and went back into the Great Hall. Lily felt all of the air rush out of her, why didn't she just go with him? She should not be sure that a Gryffindor would ask her! She shrugged and also entered the Great Hall again, and sat back down at her respective table, in her respective seat, next to Maggie.  
  
"Was that what I think it was?" Maggie's eyebrows rose so high they disappeared into her fluffy brown bangs. Lily gave no answer.  
  
"Lily . . . " Maggie pleaded.  
  
"Yes!" Lily giggled with Maggie as they bent their head close to each other and Lily told her what happened. James could barely stand it.  
  
"What happened?" The girl's attention snapped back to him now.  
  
"Amos Diggory just asked Lily to the ball!" Maggie piped up.  
  
James's heart stopped, "What did you say?" He swallowed the growing lump in his throat, why did he have to care?  
  
"I told him I wasn't going." Lily blushed scarlet. James's heart plopped into his stomach.  
  
"Lily Evans! You big liar!" Maggie giggled.  
  
"What?" James asked, his heart climbing back into its rightful place.  
  
"I lied. I don't wan tot go with him! I would much rather go with a Gryffindor than a Hufflepuff!"  
  
"Who wouldn't?" came Sirius's voice from behind the girls. "Prongs, can I have a word?"  
  
"Yeah." James immediately jumped up and followed Sirius out of the door of Great Hall.  
  
"Are you planning on going to the ball?"  
  
"Of course, it will be the only fun thing to do!" James stated.  
  
"I am too. I have figured a way--" Sirius stopped and Professor Dumbledore passed them.  
  
"Good evening boys." He greeted.  
  
"Good evening Professor Dumbledore," they chorused.  
  
He leaned in close and whispered, "Let us not blow anything up tonight, hm?"  
  
"Yes sir."  
  
"Wonderful." And he passed into Great Hall.  
  
James and Sirius walked down the hallway and into a nearby deserted classroom.  
  
"The plan is I'll go outside with Moony, and you'll listen to whatever Professor McGonagall will say. Okay?"  
  
"Sounds fine Padfoot but where will you be until he changes?"  
  
"At the howl house."  
  
"I should have known." James sighed. "Good luck Padfoot. Take Peter too. I'll be out as soon as possible."  
  
"A.S.A.P. That's how I like it."  
  
"I'm not talking about your girlfriends, Padfoot." And with that Prongs left Padfoot alone to mull over the plan a bit more. Padfoot realized Dumbledore had made a comment about tonight, but how could he have known?  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
James entered the Great Hall and found, to his very great surprise another young man sitting next to Lily and obviously getting turned down for the ball. He turned to leave and stood; he was face to face with James Potter. The two had a small stare down until Patrick Patil excused himself back to his own end of the Gryffindor table. James sat down in the empty space next to Lily and began to fill his plate again.  
  
"What was that?" Lily whispered to him.  
  
James smiled at her and told her it was nothing. Lily narrowed her eyes and gave a shrug that portrayed a verbal whatever.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
"The dress code is very severe." McGonagall was addressing her house students in front of the common room fire. "You will have to wear a costume from the era that the Queen herself lived in." A murmur of confusion traveled through the room. A thousand and one questions ran through everyone's mind.  
  
"Please state your questions." Professor McGonagall prodded.  
  
Clarice Covey of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, a very small, very powerful and very beautiful 4th year asked, "Where will we get the specific costumes made?"  
  
"There is a seamstress in Hogsmeade who will be making the costumes. She has an entire warehouse of people to do her bidding. The clothing will be done. Two more things, we will need to provide some decorations, everyone is pitching in, and . . ." she looked sternly about the room. "Please bring a date. Thank you." She spun on her heel and left the Gryffindor common room.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
"Lily . . ." Remus groaned.  
  
"What about her?" Sirius asked. It was hard to see Remus's face in the cold night. He didn't need to see it to know what it looked like, Remus's brown hair being invaded by gray, and his eyes holding a menace only unleashed once a month. There was still some snow on the ground, but they had arrived without mishap, considering they came through a tunnel. Peter was keeping an eye on the skies through the window, twitching nervously.  
  
"Lily . . . we have to tell . . . tell her."  
  
"No." Sirius disagreed firmly.  
  
"Maggie . . . what about . . ."  
  
"No. We cannot tell either of them. We're not sure how they would react."  
  
"You're right . . . right."  
  
Peter squeaked, "Padfoot, here it comes!"  
  
Sirius turned to Remus one last time, "Be strong Moony. Fight it."  
  
Sirius and Peter quickly ran out of the room, slamming the door and locking it magically.  
  
"Are you ready?" Sirius asked the trembling Peter.  
  
"Do you know what could happen?" Peter asked. He always asked the same question and Sirius always answered,  
  
"Yeah," Sirius's eyes closing determinedly. "I know."  
  
The shapes of the two boys were outlined by the full moon's light that began to shine through the cloud cover and bathe everything with in a pearly white glow. Then the shape of the tall, well-built young man shrunk into the shape of a happy, black dog. The dog's eyes shone in the pearl light at the dumpy, shivering boy, as his shape melted into one of a long- tailed sewer rat. The two lopped and scurried down the hallway, away from the door that hid the wailing Remus Lupin.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
Remus lay there, drenched in his sweat, waiting for it to begin. The only thing Remus wanted was for it to be over. Remus opened his eyes and watched the moon light pour through the window and travel across the floor towards him. He watched it taunt him, and it seemed to be stalking him exactly like the wolf that had first bit him.  
  
He was a happy three year old, watching his mother leave through the door just before his bedtime. It was time for her to go to work now. Mum played with him during the day and Daddy played with him at night. Remus watched Dad kiss Mum, and hold her tightly. Remus wanted a turn, so he walked over and tugged on his mother's black skirt. Their attention shifted down to him, and they smiled. Mum picked up Remus and held him tight.  
  
"I love my little man." She whispered into his ear. Remus giggled as she tickled his ear, and his mum passed him to Daddy. Daddy kissed Mum one more time and told her,  
  
"Don't talk to any strange people." That drew a laugh from Mum as she walked out the door. Daddy had walked with Remus down the hallway to Remus's room. Daddy laid him on his toddler bed and read him a bedtime story. When Daddy was done, he kissed Remus on the forehead and walked from the room. The last thing he did for his little boy was shut off the lights.  
  
The door was so high, but Remus wanted it to open. Remus had already tried to flick on the lights like Daddy, but it wouldn't work for him, the lights were too high up. The moon poured through an open window, and Remus was okay then because it was a full moon and he could see by its light. Remus stared at the door, willing it to open.  
  
He stood there glaring at the door blocking him from his Mum . . .  
  
There was a click and Remus ran to the door, it was open. Remus was so happy; he kissed the door (to say thank you) and walked through to find his Mum. It was a lot lighter out here than it was in the house. It was a lot scarier too; the cricket's chirping and the owl's hooting made Remus wanting to go back inside.  
  
Daddy woke up, had he heard the door open? Daddy slipped on his slippers, grabbed something out of his secret drawer, and walked downstairs to indeed see the door ajar. He walked through it, he saw Remus walking up to a dark, hunched figure in the shadows purring, "Come here doggy . . ."  
  
Remus turned and saw his Daddy. Now Daddy would help him get the doggy out of the bushes! But Daddy was running across the lawn, panic written clearly across his face. Remus looked back at the doggy, it was not making a very nice noise . . . Remus watched the doggy come out of the bushes; it was not a nice doggy Remus decided. Remus began to back away, but the doggy was following him.  
  
There was a loud click behind Remus and the mean doggy sprang and clenched Remus's arm in its teeth. Remus wailed as he watched the dark blood flow from his arm into the dark night. A loud bang rang in Remus's ears, his screams strained through the suburb. The doggy let go of his arm, and fell to the ground. Daddy grabbed the screaming Remus and rushed him inside; the cries were waking up the neighbors. When they saw what was laying in the Lupin's front yard lifeless, only then did they forgive Mr. Lupin for waking them up with his muggle contraption called a gun.  
  
After thirteen years of being poked and prodded and finally succumbing to the condition, the now sixteen-year-old Remus slipped his hand into the pearly sheen.  
  
Pain gripped his skin, fur ripped through it feeling like fire. Remus sneezed through the hair and knew no more with his conscious mind.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
James was running towards the howls emitting from the far end of the tunnel. James nearly tripped over a large black dog lying across the floor of the tunnel. The dog jumped up and growled at the person who stepped on him.  
  
"Whoa! Padfoot, Its me!" James yelled after the dog knocked him to the ground. The dog licked his face and jumped off of him.  
  
"How is he?" The dog lowered his head sadly. James nodded knowingly. The howls of pain began again, and a squeak came from the entryway.  
  
"Come on Pete, it's not that bad!" James went over and picked up the shivering rat. "You'll be okay! We always come out of this." The rat calmed down and didn't shiver and shake nearly as much as he was. The little rat eyes questioned James, and he replied,  
  
"I really don't have to transform until we know that I'm in trouble."  
  
A tremendous crash came from up in the house. The dog barked, knowing that the werewolf would run to the smell of human blood. Bark! James nodded. The small light protruding from the stairs leading into the house illuminated a graceful stag. The werewolf wailed confusedly, it had only just smelled human, now he only smelled dog, rat, and stag. The werewolf turned and went back into his dark room, waiting for another unsuspecting human to enter into his lair. He howled to the beautiful full moon he could see through the window. Down in Hogsmeade the people awoke in the night to the screams of the ghosts in the Shrieking Shack on the hill.  
  
(End Chapter 9)  
  
(For Calista Black who has been a friend, though we've never met, and who, I'm quite sure, will finish this fic...sometime...) 


	10. The Trip to Hogsmeade

-Chapter 10-  
  
-The Trip to Hogsmeade-  
  
The sun was shining down upon the backs of the students that were walking down the dusty road to Hogsmeade. It was perfect outside two days after the full moon. The snow had melted and believe it or not the students actually took off their cloaks in the warm sunshine. Lily's grandmother had lived through one of these years and had described it her as something called "Indian Winter" and it was very rare in this area of the globe. Nonetheless it was happening and James has happy about it because he wouldn't have to practice Quidditch in the snow after all.  
  
Yesterday Professor McGonagall had rounded up the students and explained to them how they would be buying brooms again for the school. Unfortunately, the school could not afford to buy anyone personal brooms to replace the ones lost in the accident. Instead, the perpetrator would be asked for this sum of money, when he or she was caught, but it was still undergoing investigation. For now Hogwarts could only promise brooms by Tuesday of next week. So the students were somewhat cheerier as they tramped through the dust and mud on their way to order their ball costumes.  
  
Lily still hadn't decided on what color to get her gown, Maggie had decided and was already going through the details.  
  
"I want a royal blue dress, with violet and gold piping. I'll probably find some kind of gold and amethyst jewelry. Or no, sapphire jewelry! Or maybe just plain gold! I don't know!" had been the conversation Maggie held with herself the night they found out how they had to dress.  
  
Lily threw her black cloak over her shoulder, and trudged along, glad to see the small wizarding town blossom into view as they rounded the last bend of the road. Lily sighed with pleasure; Hogsmeade was kind of like a home away from home. It was not nearly as big as London, but it was still a bustling little break in the scenery. Lily pulled her muggle camera from its pocket waited until the rest of the students were ahead of her. She smiled and pulled the viewfinder to her eye. The layout before her was a sight many would take for granted, but Lily knew how to capture it and make many people realize the beauty in simple and real life.  
  
She fixed the focus and snapped a photograph of Hogsmeade, living and thriving, welcoming into it a stream of students, all of their backs to the camera. It was the perfect candid shot. Lily would put this in her closet. She stood there holding the mental image in her mind, when Maggie turned from the group. She waved and shouted at Lily to catch up. Lily laughed and ran through the beautiful late September weather, still reminiscing on the photo.  
  
"What were you doing?" Maggie wanted to know, and then she saw the camera in Lily's right hand. "Oh. So, what did you shoot this time?"  
  
"Hogsmeade and the students entering it." Lily said proudly.  
  
"What? I don't get it. That happens all the time."  
  
"I know! That's why I had to have a picture of it. When I'm old and grey, and my grandkids ask me 'What did Hogsmeade look like when you were a little girl?' I just have to show them this picture." Lily stated as though it were very obvious. Maggie rolled her eyes.  
  
"What are they going to call you, 'Granny Lily'?" Maggie laughed at her own joke.  
  
Lily remained serious and firmly said, "Yes."  
  
"Okay, I'm sorry. It's just kind of funny to think of you as a grand parent!" Maggie said, fighting her giggles.  
  
"Why?" Lily wanted to know.  
  
"Because- well it is- it just is!" Maggie stuttered.  
  
"Keep up please! Separate into one line according to your house and year. Beginning With seventh year Gryffindors and ending with the youngest Slytherin with us." Professor McGonagall commanded.  
  
Lily scrutinized the small dwelling before her, it was painted a peeling blue and the sign that used to grace the shop was now titled and propped up against the house on the ground. Lily wondered why she hadn't noticed it before, then she realized because there wasn't much to notice. Lily also distinctly remembered Professor McGonagall saying something about a factory . . .  
  
Lily hopped into the line with Maggie right in front of James, Sirius and Remus. Peter was pushed further back by Brett.  
  
"Hey! No cutting!" Sirius mock whined at the girls.  
  
The girls laughed and watched the eleven seventh year Gryffindors enter the shack. Maggie was now the head of the line, and Lily began to feel very nervous about her dress. She felt a comforting hand on her shoulder, it was James.  
  
"Are you okay," he asked consolingly. "You look a bit green."  
  
Lily laughed weakly, knowing fully that James was making that joke because of her vivid green eyes. "Actually," she began, but could not finish because Professor McGonagall was herding the twelve sixth year Gryffindors through the rusty door of the shack.  
  
Lily blinked as they entered the dark front room; it was hard to see in the gloom. A stout older wizard smiled and separated the teens,  
  
"Gentlemen to the right and ladies to the left."  
  
Lily and Maggie walked through the curtain on the left and rubbed their eyes to make sure they were seeing correctly. There wee standing in a large, beautiful room with amber lighting and purple wall coverings. There were seven witches scattered about the room, knitting, sewing, and weaving beautiful fabrics. The witches looked up from their work and noticed the girls. Each one hopped up and ran over to the girls, picking which one they wanted to sew for. An older, gray haired witch with sparkling blue eyes claimed Maggie and a younger witch with long blonde hair and hazel eyes claimed Lily.  
  
"Come over here." Lily's witch said.  
  
Lily followed her to her work area and marveled at the plethora of rich fabrics.  
  
"My name is Tabitha and I'll be your seamstress." She smiled at Lily.  
  
"My name is Lily."  
  
"It is?" Tabitha asked with wonder. "Then with your eye color and your name, we will have for you the best dress I know how to make." Tabitha smiled and lifted up fabrics, comparing them to Lily's skin and hair. Lily could hardly wait.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
"Right this way Gentlemen." A deep bellowing voice said from behind a curtain of deep red velvet. A wizard threw aside the curtain and introduced himself,  
  
"I am Mr. Coppertop, and this is where you will learn how the men of the sixteenth century dressed." Mr. Coppertop was a tall and well-built man, probably in his early forties. He surveyed the six boys before him. "It seems you are all Gryffindor! Perfect! I was a Gryffindor myself! I was a beater for the Quidditch team! Any of you play Quidditch?"  
  
James, Bret and Eric Yhao slowly raised their hands, and Mr. Coppertop broke into a rumbling laugh that seemed to come from somewhere deep inside him.  
  
"Well then! Let us get started!"  
  
He herded them behind the red curtain into a small room. Everything seemed to be crammed in there all of the men excepting a couple had to duck down below the low ceiling because of their size. White wall sconces lit the room and Mr. Coppertop pointed each boy to a man bending over a machine. James was directed to one of the shorter men, but, as far as James could tell, was still a force to be reckoned with.  
  
"Hello Mr. Potter." The small wizard said without looking up.  
  
"How did you know . . ." James trailed off.  
  
"By your feet."  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
The small man looked up at James with his dark brown eyes, and nodded. "Yes boy, by your feet. You and your father have he same feet. I see you have your mother's eyes and hair though." A large smile broke the man's face. James was clearly confused. The short man rose to his full height of 5' 2" and extended a hand,  
  
"Frederick Figg is the name. I played Quidditch with your mother at Hogwarts."  
  
"She played Quidditch?" James was REALLY confused now.  
  
Frederick dropped his hand; "She doesn't have her trophies around the house at all? Has she never shown any interest in Quidditch?" James shook his head and Frederick sighed. He told James of what an amazing seeker his mother was as he began to walk around James and take his measurements.  
  
James interjected, "You don't mean the replica of the Hogwarts Quidditch cup my mom has in her library do you?"  
  
"The very one!" Frederick Figg's small face lit up. "Your father made that for her." Continued Frederick as he circled James taking his the size of his waist.  
  
"All right!" Frederick stood up. "That shoud be it. Now I think that this deep red velvet with this simple black satin will do your outfit nicely. What do you think?"  
  
James surveyed it, he guessed it was a nice fabric, "I don't really care. I just want to go to the ball." James said with a lopsided grin.  
  
"I see." After a long pause of matching up some more fabrics, "Who are ya taking?"  
  
"What?" James was caught off-guard.  
  
"Who is the son of Tiffany and Edward Potter taking to the Queen Anne's Halloween ball?" he asked, drawing out each word.  
  
"No one yet." James mumbled.  
  
"No way!" Frederick shouted, accidentally sticking James with a pin.  
  
"Ouch!"  
  
"Sorry about that."  
  
"Why did you say 'No way'?" James queried.  
  
"Because your father had all of the girls falling for him and your mother was the same way. She had every boy walking up to her when they were told they were going to have a Valentine's dance."  
  
"My parent's were the 'knockouts'? No way!" James laughed.  
  
"Yes." Frederick smiled. "Okay, that should be it, you can go join your friends now."  
  
Only then did James notice that he was the only student left in the room, he said bye and fled the teeny room.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
"What took you so long, Prongs?"  
  
"Sorry Padfoot. My costumer was an old family friend. He played Quidditch with my mom."  
  
"Your mum played Quidditch?" Remus asked, astonished.  
  
"Yeah! I didn't even know that!"  
  
Sirius left out a small whistle and commented that he was hungry.  
  
"Then let's go to the Three Broomsticks." Remus put in, understanding the feeling of an empty stomach.  
  
"I'll be there in a little while chaps." James said distractedly staring down the street.  
  
The other three boys stared down the High street in the same direction, and upon not seeing anything important, they looked at James to make sure he was James Potter. He was. So they shrugged and headed up the street as James walked in the opposite direction. He knew exactly what he wanted, and it had just walked into a teashop a little way down the street.  
  
It couldn't hurt . . .  
  
James straightened his robes and swallowed a huge breath . . . this was it. James walked into the shop and approached the table of seventh year Gryffindors. The girls looked up and acknowledged his presence, waiting on what this intruder would say.  
  
"Miss Marfunkle, may see you outside for a moment?" James asked in his most business like manner.  
  
Alice looked wide-eyed at James and solemnly followed James out the doors and past the windows so James couldn't watch the girls giggling inside.  
  
"Miss Marfunkle--," James began.  
  
"Alice," interjected Alice.  
  
"Miss Marfunkle," James began again as though uninterrupted. "I have been consulting your star maps and I have found who you should go to the Queen's Halloween ball with."  
  
Alice turned very red and began to shift from foot to foot, "I already am going with someone James. I'm sorry."  
  
James paused in mid-thought. Did she think HE was asking HER to the ball?  
  
Instead he asked, "And who would be the gentleman?" very curious.  
  
"Frank Longbottom," she sighed dreamily. Her slightly pudgy face broke into a shy grin.  
  
"Perfect!" James shouted, startling Alice.  
  
She sputtered, "W-what?"  
  
"That is exactly the young man whom your star maps told me you should go with!" James said with a grand flourish of his arms.  
  
"Oh! Really?" Alice was very surprised, and relieved that she didn't have to disappoint, the very cute, but rather arrogant James.  
  
"Yes! It seems fate is ahead of me!" he gave her a grand bow and strutted down the street to the Three Broomsticks, leaving behind a very puzzled Alice Marfunkle.  
  
A faint glimmer caught and rested in the corner of James's eye. It made him turn his head and watch with wonder the two young ladies inside 'Young's Jewels and More!' James watched Lily pick up a ring with an emerald almost the size of a walnut and place it on the ring finger of her right hand. She smiled and looked at Maggie who was pushing her dark locks behind her to fasten a string of sapphires around her neck. All James could see was glittery rocks, nothing special. The girls were holding them in such high respect though.  
  
All of this observation took place in the space of time it took first years to "swish and flick!". James hurried on, planning on asking Remus what was so special about Young's jewels . . . or any jewels for that matter. Remus knew these things, though he was a werewolf, he understood women extremely well. Remus's date for the ball would definitely have a wonderful time. So long as the ball wasn't on one of those special nights for Remus . . . James would have to check that out.  
  
James stopped to rumple his hair and then sped through a group of sixth year Ravenclaw guys who were flirting with some fifth year Hufflepuffs. The nice Hufflepuffs' eyes were drawn away from the boys to follow the daring Gryffindor seeker for a few moments, but soon the girls were all for the smart Ravenclaws.  
  
~-~-~-~-~  
  
"All right Ladies." Came a melodic voice behind them. "What are you up to?"  
  
Lily and Maggie froze in their glittery enjoyment to see the owner of 'Young's Jewels and More!' standing with her hands on her hips. Sarah Young was a shorter and rounder teenager than Lily or Maggie, but she also had an accent they couldn't place. She had a wide smile and dark brown eyes that seemed to know exactly what they were searching for.  
  
"We are- er- we're" Maggie fumbled with her words, feeling she was going to be kicked from the store.  
  
"I know what your doing!" Sarah said with a wink. "Please come this way. These might be a bit more suitable for ya'lls ball!"  
  
Lily could no longer contain her curiosity as Sarah led them to another stand in her shop.  
  
"How old are you?"  
  
"Where I come from it is not polite to ask a lady her age," Sarah distractedly said while picking out some jewels from a case.  
  
"I'm sorry." Lily mumbled, still curious.  
  
Sarah studied Lily's face and smiled, "All right! Don't pout! And your name is . . .lemme guess . . . Deborah?" Sarah asked, seemingly avoiding Lily's question.  
  
"No. It is Lily. And you're avoiding my question." Lily said, a grin growing on her face.  
  
"Yep. Ya got me. I'm not a day older than you two." Sarah stated, turning to show Maggie and Lily the jewels she had chosen for them. "Now after you've picked your jaws up offa my floor, try these on."  
  
Sarah handed the flabbergasted Lily the tray of goodies and left the shop's front room in a swish of scarlet robes through a curtain on the back wall. "Shout out if ya be needing me!" floated her voice through the curtain.  
  
"She-she is sixteen AND owns her own shop!"  
  
"I know Maggie!"  
  
"Let's see what she picked out for us."  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
"Prongs! Over here!" Sirius was waving furiously through the masses of people in the Three Broomsticks.  
  
"Where did you go?" Remus asked, sliding James a Butterbeer.  
  
"I was doing a friend a favor." James chugged down half of his drink.  
  
"Who are you asking? Remus won't tell me," Sirius sighed, "and Pete ol' buddy . . . I have no idea who you'll get to go with you!"  
  
"Thanks for the support Padfoot." Peter said with a sarcastic smile.  
  
"Any time worm butt." Sirius slapped Peter on the back.  
  
"Worm butt?" Peter choked. "Why can't you just call me by my REAL nickname?"  
  
"Because."  
  
"Because why?"  
  
"Because."  
  
"Because why!?"  
  
"Because."  
  
"BECAUSE BLOODY WHY!?" Peter's face was about to explode and Sirius was enjoying every moment of it.  
  
"Peter! Come on. Calm down!" James whispered, trying not to attract any more attention from neighboring tables, they already had enough.  
  
"FINE! I SEE HOW IT IS! JUST BECAUSE I'M A LITTLE SLOWER THAN YOU GUYS YOU THINK I'M STUPID AND NOT A REAL MEMBER! BLOODY FINE!"  
  
Peter threw his drink to the floor with a crash and left the now perfectly silent Three Broomsticks. A house elf appeared from nowhere and began to mop up the glassy mess. Remus swallowed as the noise level began to pick up again.  
  
(End Chapter 10)  
  
(For The Goddess of Purple Coats who has faithfully written her beautiful fics and inspired me to write better, also thanks for listening to my advice.) 


	11. The End of the End Peter Pettigrew

-Chapter 11-  
  
-The End of the End-  
  
-Peter 'Wormtail' Pettigrew-  
  
The darkness succumbed into him, but he, never to it. His watery blue eyes blinked in and out from existence. This was it, the night, the moment of his victory. He lifted his pale hand with great unease and rapped thrice on the dark wooden door.  
  
"Who is there?" came the voice of death.  
  
The dumpy man took a breath so his voice wouldn't shake, but to no avail. "It i-is your ssservant m-master."  
  
He door began to creak open. Soft light poured into the hallway and the servant threw his body to the cool flagstone floor.  
  
"Get up before you dirty the floor."  
  
"Ye-yes m-maser!" Wormtail stood to his full height of five measly feet, still bowing his head.  
  
"Well . . . get in here fool."  
  
Wormtail squeaked and entered into the glowing room. His master was alone and sitting in the throne one of his loyal Death Eaters had made for him. Peter gulped and slowly dared to raise his eyes to his master's face. The arrow of fear was cold and it pierced his heart to the very last atom. He beheld the beady black eyes fully cloaked in hatred, they were staring at the fire . . . no . . . through he fire at all of their enemies.  
  
"Wormtail, do you realize that I was slighted by these poor excuses for wizards, these Potters yet again?" Voldemort spat out the name, Wormtail realized it held a foul taste in his mouth. The hatred burning in the master's eyes spread to his tight lips and short squashed nose. The nose was drawn up in disgust of these ignorant wizards.  
  
"Edward Potter and his wife were stupid to not join my ranks." He let out a low grumble that only slightly resembled a laugh. "I believed I made a wonderful example out of them."  
  
This grumble was high pitched and ringing through out the small damp room, it most definitely was a cackling hag laugh.  
  
"But NO!" he bellowed. "Their son didn't even listen when I had a faithful wizard slit HER throat! Now I have approached them, the perfect gentlemen, and THE FOOLS HAVE REFUSED ME AGAIN!"  
  
Lord Voldemort stood and faced the cowering bundle of a man before him. He drew out his prized thirteen-and-a-half inches of ebony and phoenix feather and traced Wormtail's features of his trembling face.  
  
"You know what I want, servant . . ." Voldemort whispered.  
  
"The Potters are in hiding." Wormtail gained a bit more courage when Voldemort stood up and turned his back to him.  
  
"I know that you IDIOT!" he was shaking with rage.  
  
Wormtail began squeaking and pleading, "B-but my M-master! I am their secret keeper!"  
  
The tall back in front of him straightened and the head of Lord Voldemort tilted.  
  
"I'm sorry Wormtail." His voice was still dangerous. "I didn't hear you right. YOU are their secret keeper? Why would the Potters trust YOU?"  
  
He slowly turned and saw his loyal servant no longer shaking. Wormtail was no longer scared; he knew he had real information to finally give his wonderful master.  
  
"The wizard called Sirius Black owled me this morning. I traveled to Hogwarts were Dumbledore and five other wizards cast me as the Potter's secret keeper. They thought I was Sirius Black because I had taken a polyjuice potion to cover my identity. James and Lily were persuaded by Sirius to make me their secret keeper. I know where the Potters lie, unsuspecting."  
  
Voldemort's small eyes widened so large they ere an amazing two inches in diameter.  
  
"Wormtail, you do realize that f you are sending me into a trap that EVERY single Death Eaters will be after you for murdering their master."  
  
Wormtail gulped and nodded. "I am well aware of that."  
  
"Where . . . are . . . they?"  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
Peter sat in the darkness of the Leaky Cauldron, drinking to his wonderful health. Jack-o-Lanterns were floating about the place lighting up the few wizards that had decided to come out on this dark and dreary Halloween.  
  
Peter was cheerily guzzling down Butterbeers, letting the warm liquid slip down his throat and flow through his entire body. The warmth was always needed after meeting with his master. Peter took a deep breath and pushed aside the last tankard he would drink. His head was feeling light and bubbly, Peter snorted, fell face first into the table and slumbered.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
Screams erupted through the Leaky Cauldron.  
  
"THE POTTERS! THEY HAVE DIED AT THE HANDS OF YOU-KNOW-WHO!"  
  
Peter jolted wake from a very disturbing nightmare, he dreamed that He-Who- Must-Not-Be-Named had killed the Potters. Peter very quickly realized this was no dream.  
  
James and Lily were dead. He was responsible and no one knew it.  
  
He could share his victory with no one. Most definitely not his master because his master would think HE did everything himself. When Peter had hangovers he always saw his master as a bit less grand than he really was.  
  
Peter tuned out the wailing voices from his head, unable to sort through them. It was all things he already knew. This job had finally paid off, and tonight Voldemort would finally have to admit how valuable Peter actually was to him.  
  
People were screaming and wailing, but Peter was also starting to detect some cheerful shouts. Cheerful shouts? Peter shook his clouded head to try and make sense of what they were saying. His head was simply too misty. He rubbed his watery eyes with his puffy hands and still couldn't make any sense out what the witches and wizards were yelling over.  
  
A walk in muggle London had always cleared his head, so Peter decided he should take one. He slipped out the front door of the Leaky Cauldron bumping into shrouded figures as he passed through. He mumbled some 'Pardon Me's and continued into the street. It was about ten in the morning and people were jus getting out to do their shopping. Peer's head seemed instantly cleared, he shoved his hands into the pockets of his mussed robes and strolled down the street.  
  
Peter smiled to himself; this was going to be the best day of his life.  
  
"Pettigrew . . ." a dangerously low voice snarled behind him.  
  
Peter's muscles tensed up, how stupid he was for forgetting that there was one other person whom knew his secret.  
  
Sirius Black.  
  
Peter turned, wide-eyed and open mouthed to Sirius.  
  
"Have you heard the news?"  
  
Fake tears welling up in his eyes Peter began, "Yes I know about the Potters. That's so sad! James and his wife and child . . ."  
  
"Oh no, Wormtail." Sirius stood up straight, spreading his arms in a friendly way. "You seem to not have heard the wonderful news! Harry Potter isn't dead!"  
  
The news struck Wormtail like a lightening bolt, "He- he isn't? That's - how did that happen?" Wormtail began to back away from Sirius, if Harry hadn't died . . . then what had happened?  
  
"Oh no. When Lord Voldemort" - Wormtail flinched - " cast Avada Kedarva on James and Lily's child . . . the spell backfired at Voldemort."  
  
Realization was pounding Wormtail's brain to a bloodly pulp. . .  
  
"Your master is dead." Sirius spit at Wormtail's feet.  
  
Wormtail gasped and sucked in the last breath he would take as a human for twelve years . . .  
  
"LILY AND JAMES, SIRIUS! HOW COULD YOU!?"  
  
Confusion spread cross Sirius's young, handsome features. Wormtail had his wand behind his back and muttered a spell to slice off his finger with. The pain seared up into his arm, 'It's all for the best, it's all for the best' Wormtail told himself.  
  
Sirius realized what was going to happen and whipped his wand from his cloak. Before he could utter anything, Wormtail's mouth opened and closed in silent speech. The street directly behind Sirius exploded in cement, blood, and screams.  
  
Through it all Wormtail shrunk to his truest form, a rat, and slinked away under the glaring eyes of Sirius and into the sewer system of muggle London.  
  
(End Chapter 11)   
  
(For anyone and everyone who has pushed that little button on the bottom left of the screen and told me how much my fic rocked/sucked.) 


	12. Getting the Nerve To

-Chapter 12-  
  
-Getting the Nerve To-  
  
Lily and Maggie were strolling in the direction of the Three Broomsticks when they saw Peter Pettigrew storm from the doors and turn off into a nearby alley. Lily and Maggie shared a puzzled look. They soon realized what happened when they saw Sirius walk from the bar also, and search around the street for something. They guessed it was Peter. He looked at Maggie and Lily with questions in his eyes, they pointed at the alley and Sirius swallowed some air and walked in determined to apologize for being an idiot.  
  
Sirius saw Peter sitting on a stack of moldy cardboard boxes. He was breathing heavily and tears were burning down his face.  
  
"Hey man." Sirius called softly to Peter.  
  
"What?"  
  
Sirius sighed, stuffed his hands into his pockets and huffed out, "I apologize for being an idiot."  
  
Peter stopped rocking himself and gazed at Sirius through his hot tears. He was searching for anyway this could be a joke. Sirius realized that Peter didn't believe him.  
  
"Hey!" he threw his hands in the air. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that!"  
  
"You promise to call me either by 'Wormtail' or 'Peter'?"  
  
Sirius sighed an affirmative.  
  
"Swear?" Peter stood up and stretched out his hand.  
  
"Oh yeah!" Sirius grinned and gave Peter's fleshy hand a good shake with his well-honed muscular one; a grin grew on Peter's face, he hated being at odds with anyone.  
  
The day passed pleasantly after the two boys returned to the Three Broomsticks, the Marauders only pulled two tricks on Madame Rosmerta, who ran the bar. She was plump and pretty, she laughed and laughed at James and Sirius when they put green dye in the butterbeer container. She giggled every time she poured a green butterbeer that day.  
  
The Marauders stopped at Zonko's for a few "Forbidden" objects. Filch, a middle-aged greasy haired man, was Hogwart's caretaker had made up the "Forbidden Objects" list and truly disliked the foursome. For some reason he was sour to everyone. Lily tried to be as sweet as she could to him, but then again she was as sweet as she could be to most people. Maggie always stressed the 'most'.  
  
Lily tried to be nice to the Slytherins, but in the end she was always called a Mudblood.  
  
Severus Snape walked up to Lily after everyone had gotten back from Hogsmeade, but Severus glanced around at the boys she was walking with, shook his head in a silent 'never mind', and continued on through the hallways heading towards the dungeons. The boys glared after him and looked to Lily for some kind of explanation.  
  
"What?" she asked, her emerald eyes wide with puzzlement.  
  
"'What'! How could you say that?"  
  
"Lily! How dense are you?"  
  
"Hello! A Slytherin and a Gryffindor . . . that will frighten the first years!"  
  
Lily gasped. "Remus!? You all don't think I LIKE him . . . do you!?"  
  
"Uh . . ." he started.  
  
"Lord! I can't believe you guys thought I like Severus Snape! Oh no!" Her mood changed and her manner became secretive as she beckoned he Marauders closer.  
  
"What?" Sirius asked. "You can't start something like that and just stop!"  
  
Lily had gotten an odd misty look in her eyes; she seemed to be staring off into the future. It was that or she had fallen asleep on her feet. James shouted her name and she popped back to reality.  
  
"I just realized a better plan!" When the boys questioned her they couldn't get another word out of her because Maggie approached and Remus straightened up. Sirius noticed it and Sirius was curious.  
  
"Hey Maggie." Remus said.  
  
"Hello." She returned to him. She looked suspiciously at the others. "What's going on?"  
  
"Lily got this plan that has something to do with Snivellus, but she won't tell us what it is!" Sirius said, whining like a child to his mother.  
  
"I didn't know you were so interested in Severus Snape, Sirius Black!" Maggie said, placing a hand over her mouth in mock shock.  
  
"GROSS!!!!" Sirius shouted. He threw himself to the floor of the hallway and began to bang his head on he ground. He later told them he was trying to pound that mental image out of his brain.  
  
"Maggie," Remus's voice was barely above a loud whisper. "Can I talk to you about something?"  
  
Maggie's eyes grew round and her heart gave a little leap. "Definitely." They headed off together down the corridor towards Gryffindor Tower leaving James, Peter, and Lily to deal with Sirius. Luckily for them Sirius straightened up almost immediately when he realized Remus and Maggie had gone off together.  
  
"Wha . . .?" Sirius expected to be filled in on what happened while he was having his temper tantrum. He received nothing because they were standing, staring after the mismatched pair that complimented each other so well.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
Remus and Maggie walked down the hallway leading to The Fat Lady portrait. Maggie halted in front of it, opening her mouth to give the password, when she noticed Remus continue on down the passage. She stood there dumbly wondering where he was going, when he finally realized Maggie was no longer with him. He turned around and flashed a smile that made Maggie's heart miss a beat.  
  
"Come on, I want to show you something."  
  
Maggie looked uncertainly from the Fat Lady to Remus; she shrugged and ran to catch up with Remus.  
  
"It looked like you considered not coming with me." Remus's face portrayed the deepest hurt.  
  
"Oh . . ." Maggie said. "Not really."  
  
"You were?" his stormy gray eyes wide.  
  
"What?" Maggie kept getting distracted by the little thoughts popping up in her brain.  
  
'Where are we going?'  
  
'I wish girls could ask the guys to this dance, because I KNOW who I would go with.'  
  
'Oh his eyes are so gorgeous, it looks like the sky on a rainy day.'  
  
'I wonder how many other girls have thought that exact thing . . .'  
  
'I don't care! I'm the one with him now!'  
  
"Shut up!" she said aloud.  
  
"I'm sorry, what did I do?" Remus was puzzled at her outburst.  
  
"Oh! Not you!" Maggie's face turned a deep red. "I was telling my self to shut up so I could listen to you. I know that doesn't make much sense . . ."  
  
"Did it work?"  
  
"Did what work?"  
  
"Did the voices stop talking?" A wide grin was spreading across his face and the voices grew louder, they were exclaiming over how wonderful his teeth were and they were gushing about his lips . . .  
  
Maggie shook her head clear and told him they were quiet now.  
  
He smiled and nodded; she was so beautiful when she looked bewildered. Her deep blue eyes would widen and Remus believed he could swim in their glow forever. He shook his head and abruptly stopped in the hallway in front of a picture of a family of ladies from the 18th century.  
  
Remus bowed to them, "Good evening ladies!"  
  
The older girls giggled and greeted him with many a wave and wink.  
  
"May I have the pleasure of introducing my friend to you, this is Miss Margaret Amberson."  
  
The stylishly dressed girls curtsied and waved to Maggie. She returned their curtsies and looked at Remus, wondering if this was all he wanted to show her. He smiled mysteriously and requested permission to pass from the young women in the painting. Maggie wondered what he needed permission to pass for.  
  
Her question was answered when the portrait swung forward to reveal a dark hall with a light at the end of it. Remus jumped into the opening and extended a hand to Maggie for her to follow, she glanced warily down into the faint light.  
  
"I was always told not to enter tunnels with a light at the end."  
  
Remus laughed and grabbed her hand, pulling her into the gloom. The portrait swung closed and the tunnel became lit only by the far end. Remus began to walk confidently down the tunnel, still dragging Maggie by her hand. He was as much aware of her small, soft hand, as Maggie was aware of his strong one. The light became larger and larger until they reached a window; it overlooked the Forbidden Forest and where the lake turned at the back of the school.  
  
Remus reached out with his wand and tapped the second pane from the left twice. The window opened and the bricks shifted, revealing a beautiful balcony, with flowers and other greenery.  
  
Maggie stepped out from the tunnel on to the graceful balcony. The sun had just settled itself right behind the mask of trees, and the pink and purple sky was beginning to fade into black. She breathed in the fresh air of Hogwarts and turned back around to Remus. Her blue eyes were sparkling as she watched him hop from the tunnel and approach her. A funny question popped into her mind, she couldn't resist asking it.  
  
"How many other girls have you brought here?" her white teeth were dazzling in the fading pink sunlight.  
  
Remus laughed, his laugh sounded like low church bells resounding in the countryside, and when he laughed the tired lines that usually surrounded his eyes seemed to disappear.  
  
"You are the first girl . . . but the boys and I come up here all the time, usually directly after a prank." He added this afterthought, "But I'm the only one the ladies in the portrait like."  
  
Maggie giggled and breathed the cooling air again, it was so, heaven forbid she use this word . . .but it was magical out here.  
  
"Maggie . . ."  
  
Maggie looked up at Remus; she realized how close he was standing to her . . .  
  
She realized how deep his eyes were . . .  
  
She realized he might . . . and to her heart's delight he did.  
  
"Will you go to the Queen's Ball with me?"  
  
A smile lit up Maggie's face, "I wouldn't go with anyone else."  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
Lily entered the common room and scanned the room for Maggie. She wasn't there. She hadn't been in the dormitory either. That puzzled Lily and she checked her watch. It said,  
  
'Time to hang before bed, girlie! - 8:00 PM'  
  
Lily sighed and walked over to where Sirius and James were setting up a wizard's chess game in front of the fire. Lily sunk into an armchair behind Sirius and sighed again.  
  
"What are you so huffy about?" James asked, placing his white pawns in their place.  
  
"I don't know where Maggie is."  
  
"She went out with Remus, remember?" Sirius reminded her.  
  
"I know . . ."  
  
"Where do you think he took her, Padfoot?"  
  
"Maybe to meet his ladies . . ."  
  
Lily had heard the boys call each other by strange nicknames for the past year and never got around to asking why or where they got those nicknames from. James made his first move, he moved his King's pawn forward twice and Sirius quickly blocked it with his own pawn. Only one move into the game and it's a stalemate!  
  
James kept a poker straight face and moved his King's side bishop to F5. Sirius couldn't see any way of blocking that so he moved his B2 pawn forward two spaces. James pulled his Queen out two spaces diagonally to the left, or more specifically, he moved it to D6. Sirius couldn't see any way of blocking that move either. So he moved his right hand Knight to F3.  
  
James began to laugh. He was laughing so hard, he rolled on the ground and Lily leaned over the back of Sirius, commanded James's Queen to C2. It quickly smashed a poor pawn and put Sirius in . . .  
  
"Check mate!" she shouted beginning to convulse with mirth.  
  
"What!? That can't be legal!"  
  
"It is!" Lily was clutching her sides in pain from laughing. Sirius's face was the perfect mixture of puzzlement, anger, and frustration. His black hair was standing up at odd angles, almost challenging Lily's judgment. James breathed deeply to calm himself and sat up, smiling at Sirius.  
  
"Oh come on, Padfoot, just because you lost . . ."  
  
Before Sirius could protest that, Lily cut in, "Where is that nickname from?"  
  
James was caught off guard by the seemingly random question.  
  
"Can't tell you."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because!" Sirius joined in.  
  
A light dawned on Lily's face, "It has something to do with a prank, huh?"  
  
"Yeah! That's it!" James shouted.  
  
"Which one?"  
  
James's face dropped again. "Can't tell you."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because!" Sirius joined in.  
  
A light dawned on Lily's face again, "It's illegal isn't it!"  
  
James and Sirius exchanged glances . . . "No." they chorused.  
  
Lily gave an unladylike snort, "I doubt it."  
  
James looked tired and was just about to give in when Sirius held up a hand.  
  
"No Prongs!"  
  
"Why his nickname 'Prongs'?" she said to prod them on. She quite enjoyed playing the part of an annoying three-year-old.  
  
Peter walked over from doing his homework to warn the three that their discussion was being broadcast to the whole common room because of the level of their voices.  
  
"What is your nickname, Peter?" Lily nonchalantly inquired.  
  
"Wormtail." Peter said without a second thought.  
  
"Pete!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Sometimes you need to keep your mouth shut!" James snapped.  
  
"Oh don't be mean to him, Potter!"  
  
"Don't call me that, Evans."  
  
"What's wrong with it?"  
  
"Nothing . . . it's just that people I don't know well call me that."  
  
Lily knew she could have fun with that comment, "And you don't want me to be one of those people, do you?" She made her large green eyes round, and inviting.  
  
"No." He fell face first into her trap without realizing it.  
  
"Well then what do you want me to be to you?"  
  
James continued on without a second thought, "I already told you . . . sorta."  
  
"Sorta?" she plastered a puzzled look on her face.  
  
James then realized how deep he had dug himself. He was in a hole, and he didn't realize it till it was too late. It was her darn eyes! The vivid green was mesmerizing.  
  
"Nothing . . ." he quickly muttered.  
  
"No, no Potter. You can't do that!" Lily said, an evil grin growing on her face. "I demand to know what you want me to be to you." After Lily had spoken the words, she realized she had a hole of equal size to James's with that last comment.  
  
They both stared at each other for a few seconds the green and dark brown searching and apprehending much more than should be allowed. Lily felt something crumble in her herself, it was . . . Lily's heart began to pound against her chest . . . Did she really want him to answer that? What did SHE want to be to him? Lily knew the answer . . .and at that moment if Sirius hadn't spoiled it with laughter, Lily would have gone crazy with realization.  
  
The moment was lost and was Sirius was gasping for breath. Lily announced she was going to bed and not to run to the girl's dormitory stairs. Once she was on the stairs she took them two by two. She flew all the way past squealing third years and angry seventh years to her dormitory window. She scooted onto the sill and curled into a ball.  
  
Emotion was pounding through her veins. It was a strange feeling. James Potter had looked into her eyes and seen past the barriers she had put up between her heart and boys. It was a barrier she didn't know she had until James broke it tonight. She had seen down into his heart also, and what she saw in his hazel eyes, was a yearning to be loved. There almost was a piece missing in his heart.  
  
Lily remembered James had never really dated at all at Hogwarts; Sirius always seemed to be snatching attention from the gorgeous girls. But he was trying to get her attention last year . . . Could Lily have deepened that desire tonight by asking questions that put James's heart on parade in front of all to see?  
  
Lily saw something in her own heart that burned quiet, but as she pulled it out of the closet, she realized . . .  
  
James Potter wasn't as horrible as she had previously thought.  
  
'Just a lost and learning teenager,' she thought. 'Like me . . .'  
  
He was arrogant because for all he know he was the best thing I the world . . . which really didn't help his relationships with anyone that was not a Marauder.  
  
James had saved Lily from being killed by Lucius Malfoy's stupidity, he had even apologized for saying she wasn't a lady and shouting at her, he made sure she was okay at Hogsmeade when she was getting nervous about her dress for the ball . . .  
  
'Heck,' she thought. 'And those are only this year!'  
  
He had done numerous other kind things for her. Lily couldn't even list them all, mostly because she had chosen to forget them because of the pig James is . . .was.  
  
She smiled and something warmer than butterbeer filled her soul. She knew if all else failed, her friends from Hogwarts would always be there.  
  
'Hopefully, all of them.' Her thoughts straying to a certain dark haired young prankster.  
  
She passed her attention on to the darkened sky outside, and from there she let soar a silent hope that her friends and family would be safe and always loving.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
Remus and Maggie walked hand-in-hand back to the common room. The room was emptied excepting a few fourth years helping some first years with their homework. Remus dropped Maggie's hand and told her goodnight. She echoed it and he watched her turn and slowly walk up until the gloom swallowed her lovely figure.  
  
He sighed happily and stalked up the stairs to his dormitory. He passed the main window that lit the stairs, the waning moonlight passed over his skin. He watched the slightest ripple smooth over the lightly tanned arm, but tonight he felt happy because he had done something that no other werewolf could get away with.  
  
He had felt accepted by a woman for who he was. Not what he could become late on certain nights.  
  
It was wonderful. An excited shiver passed up his spine as he walked from the moonlight up the stairs. He grinned as he walked into the dormitory. He felt strong arms grab him and throw him to the bed. He hit the mattress with a grunt and three bright lights blinded his vision, voices spoke from the darkness the light did not penetrate.  
  
"Where were you?" Peter.  
  
"What did you do to her?" Sirius.  
  
"Did you ask her to the ball?" James.  
  
"On the balcony, nothing and . . . . . . . . . . . . .yes!"  
  
Whoops of laughter and joy filled the room as James turned up the sconces and Sirius shot off some sparks from the tip of his wand. It was the happiest moment of their lives, or at least of their lives that worried about Remus. Peter broke out some extra butterbeer bottles he had been preserving under his bed.  
  
The boys had a royal party since they had placed a silencing charm around the room.  
  
(End Chapter 12)   
  
(For MechaGotenks, he's reviewed my new stuff and put up with talking to me. That takes some nerves of steel.) 


	13. The Three Remaining Candidates

-Chapter 13-  
  
-The Three Remaining Candidates-  
  
"Okay! Okay! The only way to solve this is with a little game!" Sirius shouted over the girls clambering around him the next morning. His head was already pounding from drinking a bit too much butterbeer the previous night. The girls were giving him gifts, winking, blowing kisses, and acting in other ways that James would like to have wiped from his memory. He smiled at Sirius's bluff, even though it had worked, the girls had all walked back to their respective places. Sirius sighed and looked wearily at James.  
  
"I only want to go with one person!"  
  
"I know," a grin was spreading across James's face. The girl Sirius had referred to many times, as 'the only one' was Elspeth Ferrars. She was a sixth year Ravenclaw who played for her Quidditch team as the keeper. Unluckily for Sirius, was the rumor spreading about the student's lips that she was going to go to the ball with Amos Diggory.  
  
Elspeth was one of the best looking girls in the school. Last year the graduating seventh years left a list the told which of the younger girls would be the 'kick' of the school. The list remained unchanged, except for a few scratched out names.  
  
"Hogwarts, Girls To Be"  
  
(not in any order whatsoever)  
  
1. Cassandra Melea (Slytherin)  
  
2. Barbara Morley (Hufflepuff)  
  
3. Elspeth Ferrars (Ravenclaw)  
  
4. Maggie Amberson (Gryffindor)  
  
5. (name scratched out)  
  
6. (name scratched out)  
  
7. Professor Minerva McGonagall (Head of Gryffindor House)  
  
8. Aimee Lynn Puella (Slytherin)  
  
9. (name inked over)  
  
10. Lily Evans (Gryffindor)  
  
11. Emily Cratcher (Hufflepuff)  
  
12. Danielle Richardson (Gryffindor)  
  
13. Jael Bellarose (Ravenclaw)  
  
14. (name violently marked through with red ink)  
  
And the list went on and on. James only knew a few of them last year, and knew even less this year. Though the reasons names were marked out remained unclear even after a year, Sirius heartily agreed with the list's choices. He was even asked by a few of those names. Emily, Barbara, and Jael, unfortunately all gorgeous (and unfortunately not whom he wanted to go with) were paying him the greatest attention.  
  
"Prongsie, ol' chum." The phrase made James wanted to burst out laughing. "Meet me directly after dinner tonight. It's game time!" With a flourish of his arms and a shake of his spiky hair (now standing on end with excitement) he rose from the table and strutted from the room. He passed by Lily and Maggie and gave them a grand bow and slipped from Great Hall.  
  
"I know I shouldn't ask this but . . ." Lily dropped off as she plopped down across from James and Peter. Maggie sat next to Remus, both faces sharing a small smile. "Why was Sirius being weird just now?"  
  
"ONLY just now?" James said, raising his eyebrows at her obvious comment.  
  
"Yes, you're right." She sighed with a grin. "He's always been a little odd."  
  
"A little?" James's eyebrows rose clear from sight behind his tousled black hair.  
  
"Fine!" Lily threw her arms exasperatedly into the air. "He has always been mental!"  
  
James nodded and started eating again. Lily piled her plate with eggs, bacon and toast. Suddenly James banged the table and cussed. Maggie blinked and Lily let out a little yelp.  
  
"What's your problem Potter?" Lily was ticked off that he had knocked over her glass of juice when he banged the table with his fist.  
  
"I forgot to do the assignment for History of Magic! I had the entire weekend but I didn't remember it!" James cursed again and ran both hands through his hair.  
  
"If you'll quit doing that," Lily said. "I'll help you."  
  
James was shocked, "You will?"  
  
"Yes." She sighed.  
  
James's hazel eyes lit up with pleasure, "When?"  
  
Lily checked her watch, 'You still have time!' She cocked an eyebrow and looked at James, "Now if you're quite finished, Potter."  
  
"I am!" He jumped up banging his knees on the underside of the table. He winced and followed Lily out of the Great Hall, limping. They stood out in the teeming masses, and wondered where to next.  
  
"Well?" James prodded.  
  
"I could go to the common room, but the material is in the library . . ."  
  
"Great!" James grabbed Lily's wrist and pulled her through the full hallways, hoping they would get a table to themselves. James and Lily reached the library, and they did get a table to themselves. Lily went to go get the books she found references in and James pulled his parchment and quill from his bag. He was elated that he was alone in the library with Lily Evans! It was almost too perfect.  
  
James's smile vanished when he saw Lily heading back to the table with three thick books. 'Yes,' he thought. 'It was too perfect.'  
  
"These should help." Lily set the books down with a soft thud. She smiled at him, sat down, and began to flip through the first book. James was free to study her, as she was busy. Her dark red hair fell softly around her creamy white face. Her lips were slightly pursed in thought. Her striking green eyes were flicking back and forth across the pages as she flipped them with her small white hand. She was the epitome of beauty in his eyes. He unconsciously reached a hand up to his hair and gave it a good rumple.  
  
"Here it is!" she laid a slender finger on the page and slid the book over to James, he was very aware of how close she was when she was jabbering on about the information on the page. His heart began beating very fast and he took a breath. She was not going to conquer his concentration or his good grades.  
  
Lily had no idea of the affect she was having on James Potter.  
  
Where had all his bravado disappeared to?  
  
Lily slid her hand across the smooth tabletop to better provide support for her leaning body. James wasn't sure why he made his next move. He didn't know it had happened until Lily's stream of persistent talking had stopped when se felt a gentle pressure on her hand.  
  
Lily's breath arrested in her throat. It froze there, waiting for James to remove his hand from hers.  
  
And she waited.  
  
And she waited.  
  
James waited for an explanation of his unconscious movement to bubble up in his brain.  
  
And he waited.  
  
And he waited.  
  
They both waited, feeling time slow around them, and their hands grew as hot as their faces. Simply staring at their hands, time passed. Lily opened her mouth to say something, anything. James knew he had to do something about his rogue hand.  
  
He silently told himself to remove it from covering Lily's, but James's mind apparently knew better than he. He grasped Lily's hand firmly between his two. Lily slid backwards into her seat, trying to control the heat raging through her body, she had no idea that James Potter only had to hold her hand to make her hormones go wild. She took a shaky breath and tore her eyes from her hand grasped between his to his hazel eyes.  
  
She was shocked to see the passion in the hazel gaze. Several seconds passed as all of this took place, although to James and Lily it was similar to two hours.  
  
"Lily . . ." James finally spoke, his voice very calm.  
  
Lily swallowed the rock in her throat and rather gruffly replied, "What?"  
  
James blinked and his grip loosened for a moment at her reply. Lily felt her cheeks color deeper and her ears began to ring.  
  
James took a breath. It was now or never.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
In another part of the school, Peter Pettigrew was unpacking for his Muggle Studies class. The small well-lit room was stuffed with muggle artifacts; unused television sets, microwaves, blenders, and even the engine of an automobile were strategically placed about the room  
  
Younger students were slow to file from the room; one could always be caught tinkering with some foreign object. Peter laughed to himself as Professor Winglebur shooed two third years away from the clothes iron. Naturally none of the objects worked. Muggle objects go haywire near Hogwarts. Peter thought about the book he had come across and read thoroughly back before he came to this marvelous school, "Hogwarts; A History" . . .  
  
And at that very moment Peter's attention was drawn to the door, because SHE was entering. Gladys Marfunkle was the sixth year, Hufflepuff sister of Alice Marfunkle . . . and to Peter the epitome of beauty and elegance.  
  
Strangely she waltzed into classroom alone, her giggling counterparts strangely missing. Peter gulped as he caught her eye. She smiled and floated over.  
  
"Hello Peter."  
  
"G'morning." He pushed past his nervousness.  
  
"Is this seat taken?" Gesturing to the empty chair opposite Peer's.  
  
"N-not at all."  
  
"Wonderful." She breathed and she sunk into the wooden chair.  
  
A few seconds passed and neither Peter nor Gladys spoke.  
  
"Gladys . . . " Peter began.  
  
"Yes, Peter?" she batted her long lashes which hovered over her brown eyes.  
  
"Are you" -deep breath- "Are you going to the ball . . . with anyone . . . .yet?"  
  
Gladys smiled shyly and shook her head in a silent 'no'.  
  
"Oh."  
  
They sat in silence for half a minute before Gladys became impatient and said "Well?"  
  
Peter was startled, "Well what?"  
  
"Aren't you going to ask me?"  
  
"Ask you what?"  
  
Gladys heaved out all the breath her small frame would allow her to. "To go to the Queen's ball with you?"  
  
Peter blinked and nearly swallowed his tongue, "I did-didn't think y-you w- would."  
  
"You never know anything until you ask." She folded her white arms across her chest and tuned her face away.  
  
"Will you go to the Ball with me Gladys?"  
  
Gladys slowly turned her head back towards Peter, revealing her large brown eyes holding a smirk, "I would love to."  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
"Will you go to the ball with me?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
James blinked, "Yes?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Wow." James felt an enormous weight jump off his shoulders.  
  
"On one condition."  
  
"Oh here it comes . . ." he mumbled.  
  
"No messing with Snape until then."  
  
"What is with you and him?! No way!"  
  
Lily eyebrows raised, "Fine. Then I'm not going to the ball with you."  
  
"WHAT!? No! No. I'll do it."  
  
"Promise?" Lily's green eyes lit up with joy at his compliance.  
  
"Promise on my dignity as a Marauder."  
  
Lily snorted.  
  
"Fine! I promise."  
  
Lily squeezed his hand and smiled.  
  
All he bad feelings left James's heart when he realized he was taking Lily to the Ball. The he was suddenly aware of why they were where they were . . . "So . . .about that Queen?"  
  
Lily smiled even wider and slipped her hand away from James.  
  
"The Queen began as Lady Anne, until with her father's negotiations she became member of the Queen Catherine's court."  
  
"That was King Henry's first wife, right?"  
  
"Yes and he had one daughter by her, but that's jumping ahead. Lady Anne had numerous young men convinced they were in love with her. Her only goal seemed to be the King though. So, one night after a long feast the dancing started . . ."  
  
Lily's voice droned on and on until the warning bell rang. James had his report nearly finished and he had finally gotten on Lily's god side.  
  
All in all, one of his best mornings.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
The day passed very uneventfully. It seemed that the stretch of time was quite boring, and Sirius decided to spice it up a bit by harassing Severus Snape. It ended up with Sirius twirling him around on his head and a teacher walking around the corner into the hallway and giving Sirius a detention (next evening after diner). He gave James one too because he was sure he had done something also before he arrived.  
  
James had not. He was keeping his promise no matter that every fiber in his being burned towards the piece of trash. Sirius didn't notice that James hadn't done anything and he was so worked up that when he noticed Elspeth walk by he flashed his most charming grin. He corners of her mouth turned up a little and she was swept away with the crowd.  
  
"Did you see that!?" Sirius violently shook James from his daydream about a certain red head. "She smiled at me! Me!"  
  
"Yeah, that's great Padfoot."  
  
"Prongs?"  
  
"Yeah?" James was still trying to grasp the picture in his mind.  
  
"Have you made a move yet? Or are you going to keep dreaming?"  
  
"On what?"  
  
Sirius rolled his eyes, "Not on WHAT, on WHOM . . ."  
  
James grew lit up with realization, "Oh . . .yeah."  
  
"You actually had the courage after she burned you last year!?"  
  
" . . . Yeah."  
  
Sirius blinked, "Oh."  
  
They walked through the throngs of students leaving and entering the Great Hall. The second dinner bell clanged.  
  
Sirius abruptly grabbed James's arm, "What did she answer?"  
  
James was trying to avoid answering, "Moony and Wormtail are waiting . . ."  
  
"Prongs. What. Did. She. Say."  
  
James' face fell into a look pf utter agony. Sirius immediately felt horrible fro intruding, "I'm sorry bloke. There's always someone else . . ."  
  
An awkward silence fell between them. James mumbled something.  
  
"I couldn't catch that . . ." Sirius said, cupping a hand around his ear.  
  
"She said yes."  
  
The look of pure astonishment on Sirius's face exceeded James's expectations.  
  
"What?" Sirius beamed.  
  
James yelled with glee, "SHE SAID YES!"  
  
He whoop of joy from the boys overpowered all other sound. The strutted into Great Hall and sat down a Gryffindor table across from Remus sitting next to Maggie sitting next to Lily.  
  
Lily didn't make eye contact with James, who became wholly engrossed with his food,  
  
Sirius was the first one to notice, "Where'd Wormtail go?"  
  
"Believe it or not," Remus stated through his food filled mouth. "He is sitting with the Hufflepuffs."  
  
"No!" Sirius made his mouth into a perfect 'O' shape and made a slight gasp.  
  
"Yes!" Said Remus catching onto the gag.  
  
"He so isn't!"  
  
"Oh. He soooooooo is!"  
  
"I can't believe it."  
  
"Well," Remus glanced warily around, as if to see if anyone was overhearing them, which many were. "I've heard he's got a date for he ball from Hufflepuff!"  
  
Sirius made the girly gasp again. And Remus nodded knowingly.  
  
Now Sirius glanced up and down the table leaned forward and reported, "He would get someone form that house!"  
  
And as quickly as they had acted like girls the boys were back scoffing food. A few whispers passed up and down the table and the meal continued without Peter ever rejoining them for the remainder of the meal.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
A shower of red and gold sparks drew the attention of all Gryffindors alike as Sirius performed a deep and gallant bow.  
  
"May I please have your attention! If you wish to see the single most amazing thing that will happen this year in this room, then please be in this corner in ten minutes, Please and Thank You!" Another bow and the common room went back to normal.  
  
"They look interested, don't they?" James remarked. He was leaning against the wall watching Sirius's charade. He was in a very relaxed position considering he was being watched and whispered about. 'Those stupid kids haven't figured out yet that I didn't break those bloody brooms.' He thought and resumed his look of relaxation as Lily strolled over.  
  
"Sirius, don't you have some kind of homework to be doing?" She looked sharply at James. "I know you do."  
  
James shrugged off the suggestion and ran hand through his hair. Lily rolled her eyes and turned to Sirius, who was polishing a circle piece of wood with small pegs standing upright near the edge.  
  
"Yeah, yeah. Did ya get it?"  
  
Lily held out the queen of hearts muggle playing card. "Yes, but I still don't understand."  
  
"You will dearie, you will." Sirius performed a floating spell and made the card sit stiffly in the air. He took the pegged wheel and performed another spell so that you could spin it and the card would slap against the pegs until it stopped on a certain colored wedge.  
  
He whipped his wand a few times over the different colored wedges muttering nonsense until six tiny girls stood up on their color, dressed in their house colors. Jael from Ravenclaw, Elspeth also from Ravenclaw, Emily from Hufflepuff, Barbara from also from Hufflepuff, Joy Williams from Slytherin and - she blinked.  
  
Straightening her scarlet and gold robes was a tiny a tiny Lily staring up at her she smiled and her green eyes sparkled.  
  
"Oops," Sirius quickly picked the miniature up. "I forgot." He winked and tossed it over to James who caught it with the reflexes of a Seeker, "You're taken."  
  
A moment passed with Lily watching James hold the little Lily and slowly pocket it inside his robes. He looked up and gave he most cocky grin ever to Lily. She narrowed her eyes and averted her attention back to the other little girls. All were blowing kisses and waving sweetly to Sirius. He grinned and told them to hang on.  
  
He spun the wheel and the card went slap, slap, slap, slap, slap, slap,  
  
slap, slap, . . .slap. . . .slap. . ..  
  
And Sirius looked with astonishment at Jael Bellarose from Ravenclaw. She squealed with glee and clapped her little hands.  
  
Thinking quickly Sirius pulled out his wand and made her disappear into puff of pink smoke. Lily looked with shock at Sirius, who grinned and explained,  
  
"If it lands on them they're out."  
  
Little moans reached Lily's ears just before he spun the wheel again.  
  
Slap, slap, slap, slap, slap, slap, slap, slap, . . .slap. . . .slap. . ..  
  
Joy Williams was out.  
  
Slap, slap, slap, slap, slap, slap, slap, slap, . . .slap. . . .slap. . ..  
  
There went Emily.  
  
It was down to the girl of his dreams and Hufflepuff. Sirius could have chosen to stop at this point because his choice was easy now. But, he continued.  
  
Slap, slap, slap, slap, slap, slap, slap, slap, . . .slap. . . .slap. . . .  
  
It landed on Elspeth. Her eyes went round with horror, and she looked up at Sirius with tears streaming down her cheeks. Meanwhile Barbara was jumping around and emitting high-pitched whoops of triumph.  
  
Sirius raised his wand, his eyes pained and sad. He blinked and lightening struck his brain.  
  
(A/N) No not real lightening. Go see the movie "Hook."  
  
He yelled, "We have a winner!" and the little Barbara curtsied to the crowd that had gathered, when she poofed into a cloud of pink smoke.  
  
Everyone watching gasped. She was the winner, why did he poof her?  
  
Sirius quickly explained, "When it was down to two people it was whoever it landed on was the winner!"  
  
A snort came from James as he leaned against the wall. "Well then," he said with a grin growing on his handsome features. "Go get your girl."  
  
With that Sirius was gone. Some people say he apparated he was so fast, but as they had been reminded, no one could apparate in Hogwarts. It still remained a question to the days when their children sat in the same room, whether or not Sirius Black had apparated and won the girl of his dreams all in one night..  
  
(End Chapter 13)  
  
(Finally!)  
  
(For any who waited all summer for me to complete this and thanks to Smith. Helped me get rid of funky symbols! *blows kisses*)  
  
(And thanks to Cassandra, Barbara, Elspeth, Maggie, Prof. McGonagall, Aimee, Lily, Emily, Danielle, Jael, and the four anonymous ladies who appear on my list.) 


	14. Final Preparations & Understanding Late ...

-Chapter 14-   
  
-Final Preparations & Understanding Late Night Excursions--   
  
James lay in bed that night with his bed curtains slightly opened, so he could watch the tiny Lily sleeping on the bed he made for her out of a muggle pencil box Peter had given him (and James had forgotten about) in their fourth year, he found lying in the bottom of his trunk. Her small figure was highlighted by the moonlight coming in through the castle windows. Even as a fake miniature, she was gorgeous. James smiled. Then he closed the curtains and slept through the night without one single dream.   
  
~-~-~-~-~-~   
  
"Maggie!"   
  
"I'm coming, Lily! Hold your horses." She was scribbling fast on a letter to her mother about extra money for the jewelry she was going to buy this weakened in Hogsmeade for the Queen's Ball at the end of the month.  
  
  
  
Lily began to impatiently tap her foot. Maggie stopped writing to glare at Lily, Lily shrugged and made a motion to look at her watch. Maggie huffed and read what she had written for the umpteenth-time,   
  
Dear mum,   
  
Please send some more money. It's for the accessories I wanted to buy for the Ball I told you about. I finally have a date! I hope you'll get to meet him when the Express pulls in this summer. He's so wonderful. Oh! I didn't say his name, it's Remus. My friend Lily is getting impatient, we've got a class to be at. So! I'll be able to exchange the money for wizarding money at the village. All My Love To You!   
  
Your Daughter,   
  
Maggie   
  
"There!" Maggie sealed and tied the letter with a blue ribbon to Mint, Lily's owl. "Thanks for letting me use her! She's really so much faster than the school owls." Maggie stated to Lily as Mint soared out trough the common room window.   
  
"So, can we go now?"   
  
Maggie smiled, "Um...not yet."   
  
"WHAT!?"   
  
"I'm just joking!" and Maggie ran laughing through the portrait hole with Lily on her heels.   
  
They ran through the winding passages and up the many staircases to Charms. Maggie rounded a corner and Lily was about to when she bashed into a very tall someone. Lying on the floor Lily looked at the someone, she was tall and had long black hair. Her ice blue eyes pierced Lily. Lily would have confessed that she was prettiest girl she had ever seen except for the fact that well Lily didn?t like the way she was looking at her.  
  
"Why don't you watch where you're going mudblood?" She bellowed, the nostrils on her Italian nose flared with disgust.   
  
"Right back at ya." Lily mumbled under her breath as she picked herself off of the ground.  
  
  
  
"What was that?" the girl asked, as they stood up the girl was a head taller than Lily.   
  
Lily's eyes flashed with anger, "Nothing at all."   
  
The girl's eyes narrowed. "Lo d?on ci??e giustamente per colpire in qualcuno importante come me, Malvagio Vile Creatura, Good." and she stomped off down the hallway with her Slytherin robes swishing behind her back.   
  
"Lily!" came Maggie's voice echoing down the passage way. "Where are you?"  
  
  
  
"I'm coming!" She picked up her book bag and ran after the source of Maggie's voice.   
  
She finally arrived, panting, in the Charms classroom. Sirius turned around to see her, "What's up?"   
  
"N-nothing." replied Lily, trying to calm her racing heart. She sat next to Maggie, who was next to Remus and Peter. James and Sirius sat one row behind them... Lily realized this could be quite bad...   
  
"You guys aren't planning anything..." Lily searched for the word. "Dangerous?"   
  
Sirius looked at Lily in shock, "Us?"   
  
Lily narrowed her eyes, "Yes, YOU."   
  
James grinned, "Now WHY would WE do something DANGEROUS?" He winked at her and Lily spun back around in her seat, hoping no one else had seen his brazen .... annoying.....cute..... Lily's mind kept wandering all through class.   
  
~-~-~-~-~-~   
  
"Get out of my way, Severus."   
  
"Oh. Has lcklie Potter finally learned how to say my name?" Severus Snape sneered at James, his crooked teeth bared and smiling with glee.   
  
James clenched his jaw, not giving the slimy git any more satisfaction. "Move."   
  
Severus bared his teeth again and glided past James, finally satisfied that James wouldn't lash out at him. James stood rooted to the spot for a few moments. He couldn't believe he had just done that.   
  
'Stupid, stupid, stupid girl.' He thought repeatedly.   
  
Then as soon as he was ready to go march up to Lily and tell her to forget it, he would mentally picture her in his mind. The deep red halo of cascading hair, making her creamy white skin blaze in glory. Then, he would see her eyes. Those orbs of dazzling emerald, most of the time blazing with fury. At least, that's how he saw them most of the time.   
  
No matter what Snivellus could do, James screeched to a stop at the thought of losing Lily. At that moment, he would simply put one foot in front of the other and walk away. It was painful to let the slimeball leave unpunished, but he did it. Amazingly, he did it.   
  
Amazingly enough to Lily.   
  
She hadn't actually expected him to do it. She hoped he would, but she barely imagined it possible. James hated Severus with such a passion, so that meant...He loved Lily with greater one. It was too big of a thought to dwell on during the lazy afternoon time of rest she had created. She had finished her homework before the sunset and it became a habit. Then she had time to run outside and lounge around, breathe in the beautiful air, and soak up the fading rosy rays of light.   
  
It was a beautiful time to think, or nap...either one was perfect. No other student would be out there, she was alone.   
  
Alone.   
  
Lily's brow furrowed, she seemed to be alone more and more often. Maggie had taken to hanging around with Remus more often then not. They were quite the pair, Lily smiled. That was not a bad thing though. Remus always seemed too cut off from anyone besides the other Marauders. It was such a wonderful thing, to see the two of them chatting in the library or just sitting side by side in the common room.   
  
Lily sighed as she thought of the oddest turn yet, Peter had actually found a date. She laughed as she thought of the charming Hufflepuff that he seemed to have won. She had a sister in Gryffindor, but she guessed it didn't matter what house you're in anymore. Several young men from other houses had asked her to the Queen's Ball, even a seventh year Slytherin named Calhoun Alcatsol. She smiled as she thought of his dark hair and eyes... But whenever she began to think of young men a certain pair of hazel eyes introduced into to her reminisces.   
  
James always seemed to be first in her mind. Lily rolled over on to her side in the grass next to the lake. She sighed and flicked a few ants a way from her. The ground was chilly, but thankfully winter hadn't set in yet. It looked like it had the previous week, snow and gray skies for a few days, but then an "Indian Summer" came by. Though by the looks of the sky, it wouldn't be lasting much longer. Lily sighed and rolled again onto her back.   
  
She slipped her hands behind her head and laid there staring at the sky, watching a stay cloud tinged with gold and purple skate by. Students weren't really supposed to be out much longer than sundown, because of the increasing death threats in the Wizard and muggle worlds.   
  
Lily sat up, on the premonition of going inside when the sky turned an odd shade of green. She blinked and as quickly as it was there, it was back to purple and red. A cold feeling settled into Lily's stomach. She reprimanded herself for not going inside earlier, and turned to go...   
  
-~-~-~-~-~-   
  
James looked up from his Potions essay to the portrait hole and saw Lily walk in, bright eyed and pink cheeked. She looked like a statue, one that took thousands of years to perfect... He ran a hand through his hair.  
  
  
  
Lily strolled over to the fire, placing her hands in front of it, letting the slight chill she had received from the odd sky melt out.   
  
She rubbed her eyes after her hands were warmed and looked around the darkening room. She saw a few fifth years doing their homework, and two first years playing Wizard's Chess. Then, of course, there was James grinning at his Potions essay. Lily turned up her chin and glided over. She gracefully took a seat next to him and began to examine his work.   
  
"It's too choppy." She said. Her eye ever critical.   
  
"How so?" James looked at Lily's face, almost forgetting what he was writing about...   
  
"You're sentences don't flow. This paragraph should be here." She pointed a few sentences above where it was currently placed. Her white hand glided over the page pointing out a few more errors.   
  
James sighed and again ran a hand through his hair. "I don't think can do this." This statement having more than the obvious meaning.   
  
Lily smiled at him, "Yes, you can."   
  
James looked at Lily, not really believing she meant it.   
  
"I know you don't believe me, but if you'd just shape up a bit you could even be Head Boy next year. You could be that good. I know it."   
  
James snorted at her comment, "I doubt it."   
  
Lily's pleasant smile faded into steely resolve, "I don't."   
  
James didn't want to make her angry, "Okay, okay..." He turned to his bag and pulled out another piece of parchment. He dipped his quill in ink and began again.   
  
Lily sat next to him, watching his thought process appear on the paper. Soon she forgot they were in the common room. It was just James, the parchment, quill, and herself. It was glorious. She watched his hand scratch again and again over the paper...   
  
Next thing she knew she woke up on the couch of the common room. The fire was down to smoldering ashes, just barely lighting up the figure on the arm chair next to her. Lily stretched and looked at her watch,   
  
"What the #@&! are you doing up at this hour!? : 2:30 AM'   
  
Lily yawned and stood, scanning the figure in the chair for signs of life. Only the steady rise and fall of the chest was visible in the gloom. Lily pushed her hair behind her ears and leaned in closer to see who it was. Then the arms of the shadow shot out and gripped her tightly. She tried to scream, but the hand of the man, it felt like a man now from the shadow's chest muscles, clamped itself across her mouth. She had one defense in this instance, but just as she was about to bite the hand it withdrew from her mouth.   
  
"Lily!" The figure's voice hissed. "Please don't scream. It could be rather bad."   
  
Lily Evans was sitting in James Potter's lap in the dark common room at 2 freaking 30 in the morning.   
  
"What are you doing?" She hissed back, not making any move out of James's arms.   
  
He laughed softly, "You fell asleep helping me with my homework."   
  
Lily laughed lightly also, she remembered now. The scratching of the quill and steady scrawl of James's curly handwriting was hypnotizing. They sat in the chair for a few more moments before a pop from the fireplace nearly freaked the two out of their skin. James gripped onto Lily tighter and Lily sucked in her breath. The awkwardness of the situation was settling into her rational mind.   
  
"James, let me go to bed now." she barely whispered.   
  
"I can't." his voice was raspy with emotion.   
  
"What?"   
  
"I just need to hold on to you a bit longer."   
  
"What?" She repeated.   
  
"Please don't get mad," his voice had a slightly desperate note to it. "In order to hold out until I dance with you, I just need to touch you. Hold you. Oh, Lily..." His voice dropped off. Lily was glad of it, he was starting to set off alarms and whistles in her brain.   
  
James felt her body tensing up. "Relax." he crooned into her ear. Lily felt his warm breath tickle her ear, and she was quite thankful that the light was so dim. Her cheeks were blazing pink, she could feel it. James rested his forehead on Lily's shoulder. Lily felt her body relaxing into his.   
  
They sat like that for Lily never knew how long, she just knew that it was one of the highlights of her school years.   
  
No class, dark secret, or adventure could compare with that moment of mutual understanding and . . . If she dared to think it at the time we'll never know . . . Love.   
  
~-~-~-~-~-~   
  
"Lily!" Maggie shouted at her the next morning. "Where in freaking muggle earth were you last night!?"   
  
"Wow. That sounds familiar..." Sirius mumbled into his eggs.   
  
The Marauders and Lily had reached the breakfast table before Maggie, who had insisted on primping a bit more before coming down to breakfast.   
  
"Answer me!" She placed her tanned hands on her slender hips and waited, Lily was waiting for Maggie to start tapping her heel impatiently.   
  
Instead, Lily laughed. She ended up having to be escorted from the Great Hall she was laughing so hard. James and Remus dragged her out, Maggie clicking along behind and Sirius shoving one more slice of toast into his mouth. Peter had opted to stay behind with his date at the Hufflepuff table. Lily leaned against the railing of the main staircase, trying to regain some sense of speech. It took her another four minutes to get to the point of being able to speak properly.   
  
Maggie gritted her teeth, "Well?"   
  
Lily giggled slightly, "I just fell asleep in the common room. I woke up about 2:30 and went up stairs to bed. That's it." Lily was perfectly calm now.   
  
James smiled and Remus sighed, "Was that worth it Maggie?"   
  
Maggie looked enraged at Remus. "Yes. It was." She turned her back on the group and stormed off to her Advanced Arithmancy class.   
  
Remus sighed, massaged his forehead and followed her, shuffling along the hallway.   
  
James, Sirius, and Lily stood there gazing after them. Lily let out a sigh that resembled a giggle and turned to go back into the Great Hall.   
  
"So. Now that they're gone. What really happened?" Sirius stated, quite bluntly.  
  
  
  
"What do you mean?" James said, wary of what the question could imply.   
  
"Don't be thick, because I'm not." Sirius rolled eyes and stared at James and Lily. "I left you downstairs to watch Lily, James. Then you didn't come to bed till 3:57 AM. Something's wrong with that."   
  
James and Lily exchanged a glance. They didn't really want to share what went on it the common room, because nothing really happened. Nothing anyone could gossip about.   
  
James looked Sirius square in the eye, "Nothing."   
  
Sirius looked from James to Lily and back again. He nodded, "I understand."   
  
And walked back into Great Hall.   
  
James and Lily shared the same thought, 'What does he think he understands?'   
  
~-~-~-~-~-~   
  
The first news to reach James's ears through his "network", as he sat back down to breakfast, was that Lucius Malfoy was back at Hogwarts. A few months was what Dumbledore had said the limit was. Then again, when you're family is a powerful pure blood wizarding family...   
  
You get my point. And exactly that fact is what upset James the most. Baron and Lucius always ended up getting their way. It infuriated James. Probably because he didn't have that attention because his parents didn't live up to what pure blooded wizards were assumingly supposed to.   
  
And the second piece of exciting news was a certain rumor traveling around the Gryffindor table that Severus Snape, or more affectionately known as Snivellus, had a date to the Ball. And that, in fact, the girl had chased HIM down and pursued HIS attentions. No one among the entire table could guess who it would be. Or who it could be.   
  
All the Slyterins that would go with Snape were the fourth and under years, they were desperate for getting into the social event of this school year, of maybe any school year.   
  
Rumors were going around that Snape had tricked someone with a love potion. But the only ounce of truth in that rumor was how flawless of a student Snape was in Potions class.   
  
"Please!?" James pleaded to Lily as they left breakfast.   
  
"No, James." Lily crossed her arms. "We have a deal."   
  
"Exactly! And Snivellus knows it. He keeps rubbing it in my face."   
  
Lily was taken aback. "How so?"   
  
James muttered something, his voice was lost in the tumult of the last changing of classes.   
  
"I didn't catch that."   
  
"He says I can't get a date without bribing them!"   
  
Lily scoffed, "Since when did what Severus thinks make any difference to you?" She looked at James and he smiled, that was true...   
  
"He has a date."   
  
Lily almost dropped her books, "What? Snape? Are we talking about the same chap?"   
  
James nodded a sparkle in his hazel eye.   
  
Lily stared blankly down the hallway. "Whoa."   
  
James laughed. "I know!"   
  
When they had finally reached Transfiguration (they had had a staircase change midweek) everyone was already in the classroom.   
  
Professor McGonagall looked about the room, narrowing her eyes to little slits. "And where is Mr. Black?"   
  
A small girl in one corner raised her hand, "He's talking to the Headmaster."   
  
"What?" McGonagall looked shocked. James was wearing the exact same expression on his face.   
  
The small girl shrugged and went back to burying her nose in a book.   
  
"Very well. We'll have to begin without him." She turned to her blackboard.  
  
  
  
"Today!" Her voice pierced the student's ears. "We will be working on Animagi."   
  
James's eyes went wide. He muttered something under his breath.   
  
"Some of you!" McGonagall eyed the room. "Will never be able to change into Animagi."   
  
"And some of you..." Her voice lowered so that everyone leaned forward in their desks to hear her speak. "....will...." Her eyes searched the room, as if she was trying to pick out that one amazing student...   
  
"Now! For those of you who cannot, do NOT be discouraged. This is common! The gift of being an Animagi is quite rare. Even if you have the potential, it's quite difficult to master." She nodded sadly, her eyes looking off into the abyss. "Quite difficult indeed."   
  
The class shifted in their seats, uncomfortable with the amount of emotion Professor McGonagall was emitting.   
  
"Now! I would like you to write a report on what you can find out about these Animagi! What are the registered Animagi? Is there something special about an potential Animagi? Can anyone, after much work, become an Animagi? Answer these and any other questions you can think of. If you're able to find out what you could be, then I want to know that also. This is due the next time we meet." She nodded to them.   
  
"On page 36-42 is where you'll find SOME of this information." She looked at her watch.  
  
"You may begin."  
  
  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~   
  
James pounded down the hallway, "I could seriously strangle that woman." He muttered violently.   
  
"Why?" Lily was shocked.   
  
"Doesn't she know she's teaching us stuff we've all heard before!?" His face was turning red.   
  
"James, no she's not." Lily shook her red head, dodging past the Ravenclaw quiddtich team. "She's going to help us determine if we can BE one, didn't you hear her?"   
  
"I did. And It's stupid. It's all stuff I know." He went on grumbling until Lily grabbed his arm and made him stop. The people behind them swore and pushed around the two.   
  
Lily's face showed every bit of puzzlement, "How do you know?"  
  
  
  
James's eyes grew wide with realization of what he almost gave away..."Well, I was just saying...I HOPE I know what I'll be. You know... Everyone wants a certain ANIMAL...A COOL one...Ya know."   
  
Lilly squinted at him and then shrugged, continuing down the hallway, pushing the conversation to the back of the mind...   
  
~-~-~-~-~-~   
  
"Mr. Black. I cannot allow you to do this." Dumbledore sounded like he was talking to a wall, a very thick one.   
  
"But Headmaster..."   
  
"No!" Dumbledore stood up out of his chair, ready to end it this time. "You will not be able to get me to go to Mr. Snape and tickle who his date is out of him!"   
  
Sirius's face dropped. A sparkle flashed in Dumbledore's eye, "Although I am rather curious myself."   
  
Sirius grinned. He knew Dumblybore would never go do that. He just wanted to instill something. And something he did instill. He grinned and strutted from the room, only to fling to door open and reveal James, poise and ready to knock on the door.   
  
"Oh! Sirius!" James exclaimed.   
  
Dumbledore sighed and exclaimed, "Are Remus and Peter coming also!? Will you all make my office your secret meeting room!?"   
  
James gave the aged Headmaster a sly smile, "Only with your permission, sir."   
  
"Well, it's not given. What did you want?"   
  
James strode boldly up to Dumbledore, they were the same height, James looked him straight in the eye.   
  
"I need permission to go to Hogsmeade."   
  
Dumbledore was taken aback, "Whatever for, Mr. Potter?"   
  
James wasn?t so bold with this reply. He shuffled his feet, "To buy something..."   
  
Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled, "You know, Mr. Potter," He said while returning to his chair. "That a visit to Hogsmeade is crucial to the upcoming Ball, do you not?"   
  
James was puzzled, "No sir."   
  
"Well, it is." Dumbledore nodded. "You must pick up your costumes and buy any other..." He searched for the right word. "Necessary gifts?"   
  
James' face split into a smile, he rumpled his hair and nodded. "Yes sir."   
  
James and Sirius spun on their heels and strutted form the room, leaving behind a quite confused Dumbledore.   
  
As the were wandering through the hallways Sirius asked James, "What do you want to go to Hogsmeade for?"   
  
James faltered.   
  
"What?"   
  
"A present for Lily."   
  
Sirius laughed, and James bit back. "Hey! You know how good Remus is with the ladies?"   
  
Sirius was still laughing but managed to nod.   
  
"Well," Continued James. "He's buying Maggie something. If he does it, then obviously it wouldn't hurt if I did it too, right? At least when it comes to this..."  
  
  
  
Sirius calmed his laughter, "Yeah, I guess so."   
  
James looked at Sirius with conviction in his eye, "Are you buying Elspeth anything?"  
  
  
  
Sirius stopped walking.   
  
Now it was James' turn to laugh.   
  
~-~-~-~-~-~   
  
"Please stay together!" Professor McGonagall shouted over the teeming mass of students lining up to go to Hogsmeade. "Would you all sort yourselves into houses and years. Just like last time! Please! Listen up! Thank you! Sort yourselves like last time!"   
  
The students milled around a few more minutes and finally everyone was ready. McGongall looked like she was on her last straw, but she held together and led the students into Hogmeade.   
  
The students had their cloaks on in the wet weather. Rain was a steady mist on their backs as they walked into the little wizarding village. McGonagall shouted and screamed again for their attention, telling them to please go in to the same place and persons they went to the first time. The students sighed and looked around. Luckily for the Marauders they were in the same year and house. The huddled together and discussed another aspect to their costumes that they were ordering today.   
  
"We don't need them!" Remus huffed in the cold.   
  
"But it would be so fun to!" Peter squeaked.   
  
Sirius chafed him on the shoulder, "Yes. And we can be our Animagi forms too!"  
  
  
  
"Keep your voice down!" hissed Remus.   
  
"Aw, come off it." James shrugged. "Who's gonna care?"   
  
Remus narrowed his eyes, "The pretty red-head behind ya."   
  
James halted, "Oh...yeah."   
  
Remus nodded and buried his hands deeper into his cloak, "It's so cold out here. You'd barely believe we lived in the same place as yesterday!"   
  
Sirius nodded and blew on his hands. He stopped after a moment, his breath was only worsening the coldness. "But why can't we, Remus? It would be fun to have masks."   
  
James shook his head. "I don't know..."   
  
Sirius rolled his eyes, "Not you too!"   
  
"It's very dangerous!" Peter squeaked. "What if someone goes...'Hey! I've seen those animals before!' What would happen then?"   
  
"Then," Sirius said irritably. "We would say, 'How odd!' And walk off."  
  
  
  
"Guys! Why are you fighting?" Lily said, turning around to stare incredulously at them.   
  
"Lily!" Sirius pleaded. "Wouldn't it be cool if us four wore masks?"   
  
Lily nodded, "Sure. I don't see why not."  
  
  
  
"Then it's decided!" Sirius shouted. "We're wearing our Animagus forms as masks."   
  
"How do you know your Animagus form Sirius?" Lily asked, genuinely curious.   
  
Sirius faltered, "I've looked it up before."   
  
"What about you James?"   
  
James smiled, "I'll know it by next week."   
  
Maggie screeched, "OH MY GOSH! IT IS NEXT WEEK!" She began to fan herself and breathe quickly. Remus laid a hand on her shoulder.   
  
"Calm down!"   
  
"There's still so much to be done Remi!"   
  
Remus calmly acknowledged this fact and told her all would be fixed by that time. Only after she calmed down and got back into her place in line did he see everyone else's faces exhibiting utter amazement.   
  
"What?" Remus asked, worried he had something on his face or hanging from his nose. . .   
  
"You let her give you a nickname?" Sirius gaped. "You barely let us give you 'Moony'."   
  
Remus went pink and shrugged. Luckily for him the doors opened to admit the 6th year Gryffindors. Everyone ran to their seamstress or seamster, who were standing in the reception area.   
  
Lily's eyes lit up as she skipped over to Tabitha. "Hello Tabitha!"   
  
"Good afternoon Lily! I hope you love it, it's my best work yet!" She presently pulled the gown from it's hiding spot and Lily nearly fainted at the sight of the gorgeous dress.   
  
"Oh... Tabitha..." she breathed.   
  
"I take it you like it?" Tabitha asked, a glint of ecstasy in her eye.   
  
"It's beautiful! Thank you!" Lily hugged Tabitha tightly.   
  
~-~-~-~-~-~   
  
"How will this work?" Mr. Figg asked James, holding up a scarlet and mahogany outfit.   
  
James gaped. "Whoa! That's the coolest costume ever!"   
  
Mr. Figg grinned, "I thought so too. And I made something for ya." He pulled out a hat, matching the costume in color and fabric, a long red feather with a gold glint to it stuck out a foot from the right of the hat.   
  
"This is so awesome Mr. Figg! Thanks!"   
  
Mr. Figg shook his head, "Anytime, anytime."   
  
"Oh I have a date now." James motioned to the other side of the room where Lily was giggling with her seamstress."   
  
"Ah. Congratulations." Mr. Figg nodded his approval and laughed slightly to himself.   
  
After the screams of joy had finished the prices were rattled off, Hogwarts helped pay for half of the price, but it was up to the students to come up with the rest. They all had the money, paid and their costumes were wrapped up. The moment they exited the building into the cold, gray day they were asking each other for a description of their get-up.   
  
Some gurgled the information willingly and others said, "You'll have to wait and see."   
  
James slipped away from the group and meandered slowly down the High Street, searching for a shop that could cater to his needs. The shifted his bundle to his other arm as he reached the shop he had spotted Lily and Maggie in an the last Hogsmeade visit.   
  
He opened the door and a mixture of lavender and something deeper...richer...reached his nostrils. It wasn't at all unpleasant and he quickly ducked behind some display shelves so no one from Hogwarts could notice him. He sifted through some smaller displays of jewels, not really interested. They looked too cheap, they weren't good enough for Lily. . .   
  
"Find anything' ya like?" came a girlish voice from behind him.   
  
James spun around, feeling like a two year old with his hand caught in the cookie jar. A short, pretty, brunette with an odd accent was standing in front of him.   
  
"Not yet. . ." James replied warily.   
  
"Have any idea of what you'd like?" She asked nonchalantly.   
  
"A present."   
  
The girls melodic laughter rang though the store, "I guessed as much!"   
  
James grinned, "Who are you?"   
  
The girl gave a flourish and a bow, "None other than Young herself."   
  
"Oh. YOU own this shop?"   
  
The girl nodded, "I'd rather be known as merely Sarah, if ya please."  
  
  
  
"All right. I'm shopping for a present, Sarah."   
  
Then the question came at him like rapid fire, "Male or female?"   
  
"Female."   
  
"A family member or special someone?"   
  
James blushed.   
  
"Special someone then, Birth month?"   
  
"Mine?"   
  
"Hers."   
  
"I don't know. . ."   
  
"Okay. . .Eye color?"  
  
  
  
"Vivid emerald green."   
  
Sarah's brown eyes lit up with a smile, "Perfect! This way!"  
  
  
  
She led James over to a counter which boasted an array of green jewels.   
  
Sarah sighed, "Of course, it would help if you knew what kind of dress she has... You do go to Hogwarts School which's having a ball, correct?"   
  
"Yeah. . .I don't know. Sorry."   
  
Sarah shrugged. "It's all right. I wouldn't expect my date to know either."   
  
"Are you going? Do you attend Hogawrts? I've never seen you before..."   
  
Sarrah laughed out loud, "Oh no! I went to another school in Ireland. My parents died last year so I moved here."   
  
"I'm sorry."   
  
"Don't worry about it. Do you want a ring or a necklace?"   
  
"Necklace." James quickly blurted. Sarah laughed again and James chuckled along.   
  
"I understand. Rings have allot of ... commitment in them." Her smile faded. "I understand."   
  
James noticed the change in her countenance.   
  
Sarah quickly recovered, "Well. Look at this one." She reached up and lightly fingered a light green, heart-shaped jeweled necklace. James shook his head. It looked to light for Lily...   
  
"Okaaaay ... How's about this one?" She pointed to a lovely green, circular jewel in the middle of an ornate gold coin. James shok his head fervently. That was way too heavy.   
  
Sarah sighed, "Why don't you just look through 'em then. I need t fix around the arrangement anyways. Tell me if you see anything." She nodded and reached for a raindrop shaped emerald, it seemed to have a flame burning inside.   
  
James' face lit up, "What's that one?"   
  
Sarah handed it to him, "It gets warm when the giver is near. One of those silly little magic stones." She noticed how closely James was inspecting it. "You like it?"   
  
"Oh yes." James breathed, it was more perfect then he could have imagined.   
  
"Oh. All right. Some over to the counter." He walked across the store still staring at the stone.   
  
Sarah slipped behind the counter and wrote something up on a piece of paper. She looked up from what she was writing and asked for the stone. He handed it to her, the spell broken.   
  
Sarah studied it for a few moments and wrote some more things in a scrawling handscript. She slammed her book shut and asked James for his hand.   
  
"What?"   
  
"Give me your hand."   
  
James reached out his hand, Sarah laid the stone in it. "Keep it open." She bent behind the counter for something and came back up holding an ebony wand.   
  
"What are you doing?" asked James, more curious than scared.   
  
"Amora Mira Siempree!" Sarah whispered to the stone in James' hand. Immediately the stone grew warm in his hand and glowed a little brighter.   
  
"There!" Sarah declared, "It will now respond to your presence. Must be a special girl..."   
  
James let down his defenses. "She is. She's got this amazing red hair and those vivid green eyes I told you about. And when she's mad they get a glint of fire in them...allot like this stone."   
  
Sarah paused, "What's her name?"   
  
"Lily."   
  
"Oh! I've met her... She's really nice. I liked her. You best be nice to her, young master."   
  
James smiled and ran a hand through his hair, "Oh don't worry. I've waited too long to ruin my chance with her."   
  
Sarah handed him the bag with his stone it, "Well, thanks for shopping here. I hope things work out between you two."   
  
James smiled at the and slipped out of her store, he shoved his precious gift deep into his pocket and scanned the street for any signs of Hogwarts students. They all seemed to be down the street at the Three Broomsticks.   
  
He sauntered nonchalantly down the High Street, a wide smile splitting his face. A that moment a ray a sunshine sliced through the clouds and lit up the street, making this cold, dreary day into a storybook land...but only for a moment.   
  
(End Chapter 14)   
  
(For Serpena, yelling [in essence!] at me to update and for fixing her 'insult'.) 


	15. The Doors Open

-Chapter 15-  
  
-The Doors Open-  
  
"Lily!" Maggie called, she was balancing six butterbeers and looked a bit unstable. Lily heard her shout, saw her precarious situation and rushed to help her. Maggie laughed as she passed Lily three drinks.   
  
"Thanks."   
  
Lily shrugged, "It's no problem."   
  
"Good!" Maggie and Lily quickly crossed to the table in the middle of the room, where the Marauders usually put themselves so they could be the center of attention. Right now Sirius was entertaining some little witch and wizard children with a horrifying fictitious tale. They were giving him their rapt attention.   
  
Lily slid into her seat and set the drinks on the table, she motioned to the occupied Sirius with a slight nod of her head. "What's he up to?"   
  
Peter shrugged and he was quickly lost behind the rim of his mug. Remus rolled his eyes, "He's just being himself. What else?"   
  
Suddenly the door flung open and a pink cheeked James strode in. After making sure everyone had seen him and recognized who he was, he sauntered over to his friends. He plopped down in the last vacant seat and slid and mug towards him. He took a long drink and was pleased to see that everyone was still looking at him.   
  
Lily finally got tired of waiting; she could tell he wasn't going to tell them without being asked. "Where'd you go to James?"   
  
He winked at her, "I was just following some advice Remus gave me."   
  
"I did?" Remus cocked an eyebrow at him.   
  
James gave him a look and Remus nodded and smiled, finally understanding. At this moment Sirius finished his story with a great flail of his arms and bowed. The children, even their parents and other assorted people who couldn't have helped listening, applauded wildly.   
  
~-~-~-~-~   
  
Dumbledore smiled warmly as he watched the kids slowly file into Great Hall. He loved waking early and coming to Great Hall at an unearthly hour. It was all for a good cause, it meant he was there when the students came in for their breakfast. Mostly everyone had woken up by this time and they were rubbing the last of sleep out of their eyes. He had decided last night that he would make the announcement today, considering it was the 31st of October and the Queen would arrive tonight for her Ball at eight o'clock. He had discussed it thoroughly with his staff, and they had all agreed.   
  
He rose and waited for the chit-chat to die down. Slowly enough it eventually did and Dumbledore smiled at the kids, his blue eyes were sparkling with pleasure.   
  
"Good morning everyone."   
  
A chorus of mumbles greeted Dumbledore, some from sleepy mouths and other from full mouths.   
  
"I and the staff have come to an agreement." He watched everyone's ears and eyes perk up, a few people started whispering.   
  
"There will be no classes today."   
  
The cheer that arose from the mouth of the students woke up anyone who was lingering in bed...   
  
~-~-~-~-~   
  
The Marauders let up a great whoop of joy, Lily and Maggie squealed and clapped their hands. Even at the age of sixteen those six words made them giddy four-year-olds at Christmas.   
  
"Now we can finish our plans!" Sirius said to the other boys and they silently slipped from Great Hall.   
  
"We get more time to get ready, Lily!" Maggie said, her eyes sparkling with merriment. Lily nodded and they ran up to their dorm.   
  
Maggie shut the door behind them, "Are you going to show me your costume now? It IS Halloween. . ." She gave Lily the sad puppy dog look. Lily rolled her eyes and laughed.   
  
"Yes. . .You have to show me yours also!" The girls bounded over to where they had safely laid away their costumes.   
  
"You first because I say so!" Lily laughed.   
  
"All right!" Maggie swished out her dress. She held it up to her body so it looked like she would be wearing it. The blues and purples shimmered in the early morning sunlight coming through the windows. Lily breathed out a compliment and touched the piece of art. Maggie showed her the lace around the sleeves and neckline; there was a gold chain that would drape just around Maggie's hips when she put it on later that day. The neck was a sharp square, and on her neck Remus had bought her a beautiful golden necklace. The necklace itself looked like lace, winding itself around a single sapphire, which was just a few shades darker than Maggie's eyes.   
  
"It's beautiful Maggie."  
  
"Thank you. Now! Your turn!" Maggie laid aside her dress and waited for Lily to produce hers.   
  
~-~-~-~-~  
  
"If we pull this off," Sirius leaned back in his chair, a satisfied smile resting on his face. "We'll forever be in Hogwarts history."  
  
Peter shook his head, "It seems too complicated..."  
  
"You don't have to help ya know." Sirius snapped at him.  
  
"Calm down." James warned. "He's got a point."  
  
"Who?" Sirius and Peter said together.  
  
"Peter."  
  
The other three were shocked. Peter's mouth worked like a fish, "M-m-me?"  
  
James nodded.  
  
Sirius's gaze narrowed in on James's plot, "You just don't want anything to ruin tonight."  
  
James felt like his hand was caught in the cookie jar.  
  
Remus nodded, "Me neither. I'd rather be able to focus on just Maggie tonight."  
  
"Yeah, it took me forever just to get Lily...finally..."  
  
"And....well..." Peter swallowed, they understood.  
  
Sirius sighed discontendedly, "Yeah... I guess..." He slammed a fist on hte table they were gathered around. "Bloody Hell! I hate this... Are girls making us soft?"  
  
"NO!" Every mouth stated.  
  
"Well, then?"  
  
"No, Sirius, " James shook his head. "You pull something tongiht and get caught...Elspeth will never take a second look at you."  
  
Sirius froze. He hadn't thought about that...  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
Maggie squealed, "LILY! THAT'S SO PERFECT FOR YOU!"  
  
"Shhhh!" Lily laughed. "You're too loud."  
  
Maggie giggled, "That's really genius of your seamstress though! Making your dress look like a lily... It's so beautiful."  
  
Lily smiled, "It is..." she ran her hand over the cream colored satin skirt. It shimmered in the morning light pouring through the window. It looked like a giant lily, with deep green accents and flowing cream sleeves.  
  
Maggie giggled again.  
  
Lily joined in and the two were soon falling over in mirth.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
"Well...Then...It's off."  
  
A deep sigh of relief came from each of them.  
  
"Kid of dissappointing. Maybe we shouldn't have found dates..."  
  
"SIRIUS!"  
  
"What!? I was just joking!"  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
"Let's see your jewelry then."  
  
Lily blushed, "I've not got any."  
  
"You haven't?"  
  
Lily shook her head sadly.  
  
"Aw, buck up," Maggie smiled warmly. "I think I've got some green ribbon that will bring out your eyes and your dress!"  
  
"Thank you Maggie."  
  
Maggie shrugged, "What're best friends for other then to be there in their friend's greatest hour of need?"  
  
Lily hugged Maggie and they both set to looking for the ribbon.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
Sirius and Peter had set off to the other common rooms to pick up their dates. This left James and Remus to fret over the night to come. James pulled his hat on more firmly. He looked at himself in a wall mirror, he looked like a complete bufoon. He was ready to give up on the hat and throw it into the Common room fire, when Remus came over.  
  
"No, no," Remus reached up and titled the hat at an angle. "That looks more like yourself."  
  
James studied his relfection, "You're right. Thanks."  
  
Remus smiled, "No problem." His costume contained tone on tone green. It ranged from sea to forrest, and looked really good. James told him so and Remus thanked him. An uneasy silence fell over the two.  
  
"I don't think I can do this." James said, his voice quavering.  
  
"Me neither." Remus shook his head, the same sinking feeling in his gut.  
  
At that moment somone cleared their throat behind them. James and Remus spun slowly, to see two angels. Remus's heart caught in his throat, and James's just stopped still.  
  
Lily and Maggie stood on the stair, they were smiling widely. Maggie had her down loose and long, Lily had taken nearly two hours to give it the perfect level of curls. Lily's hair had taken Maggie at least an hour, she'd twisted and pulled it back into a large, flat knot at the very back of her head.  
  
The boys swallowed down their nervousness and advanced to the stairs. Lily and Maggie slowly descended, facing their dates with a smile.  
  
"You are so beautiful." The moment it left his mouth James felt it was stupid and dull, but Lily blushed and thanked him.   
  
"Well?" James turned and offered her his arm. "Shall we?"  
  
Memory pricked at Lily, that last day with her parents... A warm comfort filled her, "We shall."  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
Everyone filed down to just outside the Great Hall. Students who weren't old enough or not asked to go to the Ball stood above everyone, peering down over and through the railing. There was a mulititude of students milling around, waiting for the doors to open at 7:30pm.  
  
Lily held James's hand so as not to loose him in the crowd. James was looking for Sirius. Lily spotted him, told James and they wove their way over there.  
  
"There you are!" Sirius said to James with a big smile. Sirius started when he saw Lily.  
  
"Wow."  
  
Lily blushed. James glared at Sirius, "Hey."  
  
"What?" Sirius said, he slipped an arm around the waist of the girl next to him. "Elspeth meet Lily Evans. Lily, Elspeth."  
  
They girls nodded to each other, aware neither were really a threat to stealing her own date, so getting along right off the bat.  
  
"How much longer until they open up?" Sirus wondered out loud.  
  
"What? Mr. Black is impatient? I guess some things never change." A chill voice came from behind Sirius. He turned and nearly screamed. Instead his jaw dropped. She shimmered in a pale blue green, but the part her mostly recognized were her icy blye eyes.  
  
"Serpena." He whispered.  
  
She smiled, tall and with long black hair it wasn't her appearance that was appaling, no it was appealing...What was appaling was whose arm she was on.  
  
Severus Snape's to be exact.  
  
Snape sneered at them, "Oh. Even here I can't get away from you?"  
  
Serpena smiled at him, "I'm beginning to think this school is run by Gryffindorks."  
  
"What'd you say?" Lily spoke up, her temper rising.  
  
Serpena then noticed her. She gave Lily a cold glare, "Oh. You're the girl who can't see five feet in front of her."  
  
"What's that supposed to mean?" James growled.  
  
Lily laid a hand on his arm, "I accidently ran into her in the hall..."  
  
"Oh." James tried to keep from laughing.  
  
"Yes, and thanks to you, I have a bruise from it." Serpena snapped at Lily.  
  
"You're welcome," Lily did not care for this girl much. "I can give you more than a bruise if you like."  
  
But before Serpena could open her mouth Snape pulled her away, claiming the conversation was boring anyways.  
  
Elspeth was inrigued by this conversation, "Who was that Siri?"  
  
"Old, old, old, lang time ago, long forgotten girl friend." Sirius said, still a little shocked that she was the one here with Snape... James smiled.  
  
"Oh." was Elspeth's reply. Nothing more.  
  
A loud click resounded through the hall. Every eye turned towards the Great Hall. The large doors slowly began to creak open.  
  
"Here we go..." James murmured under his breath. 


	16. So It Begins

-Chapter 16-  
  
-So It Begins-  
  
James gripped Lily's hand and stepped through the doors. Both were taken aback by the decorations littering the room. Garlands hung everywhere, mostly with ghostish ornaments, or a medieval looking gems. All along the right side of the Great Hall a small jousting area had been set up. You picked a small knight from the merchant's collection to rent, the small knight would run and bash into your opponent's small knight. Oooohs and Aaaahs could already be heard from the direction by the students who had filed in before Jamesand Lily. Along the left wall a series of booths had been set up. One boasted having authentic middle ages food, another claimed to have real ghost jewelry, and another one sold official Headless Hunt gear. It was almost too much to take in a moment's swift glance, but it was done and the students quickly filed to tables.  
  
James found a larger table that would fit the Marauders and their dates. He practically growled at anyone who looked like they were thinking about sitting there. After a few tense moments, the Marauders found James and everyone sat for a few moments. The arrangement went something like this: Peter, Gladys Marfunkle, James, Lily, Maggie, Remus, Elspeth, Sirius.  
  
(A/N: Get that? Good.)  
  
After everyone was comfortable their thoughts moved to the entertainment plastered along the extemeties of the room. Gladys whispered to Peter something about getting some ghost jewelry. Lily asked Maggie and Elspeth if they'd like to go see the jousting. They agreed, and Remus joined them, leaving Sirius sitting at the table across from James and Gladys.  
  
The change in Gladys's attentions was so instant that Sirius had to blink a few times before he comprehended what was going on. Gladys was leaning on the arm of her hair, her long golden hair swirled elegantly up and her blue eyes sparkling with joy.  
  
"Oh James! I simply love your outfit!" She bubbled. "It's so debonair!" She emphasized "deboniar" so that it sounded like she gushed "Deb! O! Naaaaiiir!"... It sounded foolish.  
  
James smiled weakly and then gave Sirius a shocked look.  
  
"You know," Gladys continued, commanding James's attentions for herself. "My favorite color is red! It's such a deep, wonderful color." Every word she spoke dripped with hidden passion. James immediately jumped up and startled Gladys. He declared he needed to find Lily and wandered off. Gladys smiled at him and waved as he walked off.  
  
As she turned back to the table she was appalled to be greeted by a furious glare from Siruis. She sneered at him.  
  
"What do you want, Black?"  
  
Sirius's eyes narrowed, "I don't like people who use my friends."  
  
Gladys cocked a shapely eyebrow at him, then broke into a grin.  
  
"Oh! Peter!" With Peter's approach, she neatly blew off Sirius's accusation. "What did you bring back!?" She giggled and cooed over what he brought her. She gave him quite a bit of her attention, so much so that Peter looked quite flustered.  
  
"Oh Sirius," Gladys said, turning her gaze on him. "Look! Peter got me this beautiful ghost bracelet." She smiled widely, a sly look preceeding in her gaze.  
  
Sirius's lip twitched in anger, "Nice." He stood up. "I'm going to find Elspeth." With that he left Gladys to her own devices.  
  
~-~-~-~-~-~  
  
"COME ON GREEN!" Lily shouted, disturbing some of the milder students around her. "GREEN! GREEN!"  
  
Sirius stode up, "What's going on?"  
  
"Well, Lily rented the green knight, I think she's going to blow a gasket from cheering..." James said out of the corner of his mouth.  
  
"GREEEEEEEEEEEEEN! GOOOOO!"  
  
Sirius clapped his hands over his ears and nodded to James that he agreed with him perfectly.  
  
Again the two small men rounded the corners and began to aim for each other's hearts. The blue knight only needed a point to win, while the green knight needed two. With a deft roll of his shoulder, the green knight deflected the blue knight's blow and knocked his azure opponent off his teeny horse.  
  
"YAAAAAAY!" Lily jumped up and down, she threw her arms around James's neck and shouted into his face. "GREEN WON!"  
  
"I saw!" James said excitedly, more excited at the feeling of Lily's arms around his neck than the victory itself. Sadly, Lily quickly let go and bounced over to the merchant, she collected her prize of a rose that could last for an entire year, and came back beaming at the boys.  
  
"Congratulations." Sirius said with a sligh nod of his head. "Where's Elspeth?"  
  
Lily shrugged, "She was just here... I'm not sure where Maggie and Elspeth went!"   
  
A hush fell over Great Hall, no one uttered a syllable. Lily slipped her hand into James's, not sure if she should be scared or excited. Three great booms of knocks came on the closed doors of Great Hall. There was a sigh of chilled wind as nearly forty ghosts on ghostly steeds soared through the thick door. Everyone gasped in amused shock as the long dead men began tossing each other their heads. It was a beautifully elaborate display, the heads floating and crisscrossing, giving the students presnts of huge smniles all the while.  
  
James leaned close to Lily and breathed in her ear, "The Headless Hunt."  
  
Lily wasn't sure if it was just the flying men and body parts or if it was the closeness of James that made her dizzy. She didn't really have time to dwell on it, for another knock came at the door. Then, trumpet music blasted into Great Hall, making those living flinch from the din, and those dead stand stock still.  
  
A small ghost, his head on a little crooked, "Her Majesty, The Queen of England, Wife of Henry the VIII, requests to enter this school and mingle with the children hereof."  
  
Dumbledore stood somlenly from his table at the front end of the room, "Yea, she may come."  
  
The ghost gave a bow, holding on his head for support and reached this hand through the door. HE quickly stepped away and bowed low. A horseless carriage then drew into the room, it halted no more than just inside the doors.  
  
"Her Majesty, Queen Anne Boleyn of the Tudor household."  
  
The small door of the transluncent, moonlit carriage opened. From the carriage stepped a young woman, the high collar of her dress framing her dark and attractive face. The students waited expectantly for the old queen to step from the carriage. It took everyone a few moments to realize the YOUNG woman in front of them was the Queen. Quickly everyone dipped low, glad for time to hide their burning faces afer such embarrasment.  
  
The Queen's deep and dead eyes scanned the room, "It seems there is a goodly crowd here tonight."  
  
(More in ch. 17. I've decided to only put this much in this chapter. I'll probably write ch. 17 tomorrow. No promises though.  
  
And, at the moment, my internet is down. So I still can't load it onto the internet. Ah well. I'm drained. I had my wallet stolen at school today, so I'm in a funk.  
  
-Sarra_ 


End file.
